The End
by HaleyBunnySizzleJ
Summary: Nora and George find out about Casey and Derek's relationship. About the sex. The love. The drama. Doesn't look like it's gonna be pretty.. but what if it's true love? What'll they do to save their relationship? Or'll they have to end it once and for all?
1. Chapter 1, Hard Truth

_I do not own Life with Derek or any of these characters! But anyway, hey :) I sort of had this surge of idea one day because it kind of hit me that no one really wrote on here (well mostly) about what'd happen if the family did actually find out about Casey and Derek's secret sexual relationships... so here's my take. Oh and don't worry. This isn't a one-shot so there's going to be more chapters. There's actually a plot to this. MY FIRST FIC, TOO, SO READ AND REVIEW YOU GUYS! :D THANK YOUUUUU!_

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><p>Casey had never seen George look as broken and destroyed as he did right at that moment. He had red clouds in his eyes from sobbing to Nora, black clouds under them for having done so the entire night. He had on his best black suit, complete with a tie – the same one he had worn four years ago, the night he had carried Nora through the threshold of their new home.<p>

He'd come with bags that night – Nora's.

He was leaving with bags tonight – his.

"I've decided I should take the boys and Marti up to Abby's mother's place in Spain," his voice so grim, his voice so sober, the announcement of a death. "I don't think we'll be coming back. I'm so sorry, Nora. I can't live with this, especially not here. Not in this house. I'm sorry."

Nora's lips twisted. Her eyes shut tight and stayed tight, in a desperate attempt to stifle the tears. She nodded shakily. Her arms curled around Lizzie, holding onto the girl for dear life and for the sweet comfort that Casey wasn't at liberty to provide. The three of them then watched as Edwin and Marti descended the stairs. Edwin had in one arm Marti's bags, and hanging on the other all his own.

He avoided eye-contact with Casey as he set the things down by the coat hanger.

"Kids –" George muttered, gesturing towards the McDonald family. "Last goodbyes."

Marti was the first to burst into tears. "I'm gonna miss you, Nora!" she exploded, breaking into a quick sprint and crashing into her short-lived step-mother. "I'm gonna miss you so much!"

Nora, barely able to talk, embraced Marti back as hard as she possibly could.

"I'll miss you too, Nora," Edwin murmured, smiling weakly. "And you, too, Liz."

Lizzie pulled him into a hug – their last one, ever. "I'll miss you so much, Ed. Don't you ever forget me."

"I won't."

"Be safe in Spain," Nora breathed.

George took a breath. "Clock's ticking. I'm sorry but we've got to go. It was – it was good being with you, Nora."

And then he turned, and made to leave.

Casey's heart slipped into her stomach. She lunged forwards, hard. "George – no – please don't go!" she yelled. She had to try – It would work – he'd listen. He'd listen – "George – please! I'm so sorry for what I did! Please don't do this to us!"

She wanted to tell him she hadn't planned it – she wanted to tell him it'd been an accident. She wanted to tell him tried, at least tried, to save their family. But if she did, then she'd have lied. So alright, she hadn't planned it, and maybe it'd really been an accident – but she hadn't done a thing to stop it, or to save their family. She'd neglected them. Stupid, dumb, conceited, she'd neglected them for her own self-righteous, selfish needs.

But she had to try – "George, please –" she had to try –

"Shut up, Casey!" Nora screamed. "Shut up!"

Marti hugged Edwin to escape the pain; George turned away from them.

"I can't believe you did this to us," Nora wept, such a mess that she was bawling on the floor. "You broke us up. You broke this entire family up. We were so happy, Casey, I was so happy, so happy – so happy – and you went against your better judgement, all that I've taught you, and you look what you've done! Shut up. Just shut up. I don't want to listen, because you're no daughter of mine – not anymore!"

"I'm sorry!" she screamed again, only to find that she, too, was crying. "But please don't let George leave, Mom, please don't let him leave –"

"I'm not sorry, Casey," George shook his head. He picked up his bags, and Edwin followed suit. "And I don't have the time for your games. You've done what you've done, and you know what you've done. You've put us in the position we're in. So goodbye, Casey."

And then three of them turned towards the door, and walked out of her life.


	2. Chapter 2, Close Call

_I do not own these characters!_

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><p>Casey jerked awake from – for the third time that week – the same dream.<p>

No – nightmare.

George and Nora'd found out. George'd decided it'd be best if he took the kids and left. Nora'd decided a divorce'd settle things between them for good. Marti hated her. Lizzie hated her. Ed hated her too, and – oh good Lord. Casey didn't even want to think about it anymore.

She groaned, pulling herself up to a more dignified position.

She'd fallen asleep with her face in a textbook, studying for that huge Math midterm they had tomorrow. She'd started at two in the afternoon – reaching for her clock, Casey realized it was almost six in the evening. She felt her heart sink in her chest, because that meant she had in total about ten minutes to get out of these sweats, wash up and get into something a little more appealing for her date later, then get downstairs two minutes before dinner to help finish setting the table.

This was why she never liked ill discipline. If only she'd had the drive to stay up and study (but well, maybe she had been tired because of staying up every other night that week, but still?) she'd have had enough time to prepare for dinner – and her date.

So – very quickly – Casey let herself into the bathroom and took a three-minute shower. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and flossed. After that she headed back to change into something a little different, something sexy to catch his eye. In fact, she already had something picked out – a pair of her tightest skinny jeans, and a ruby-red snug spaghetti. She slipped into them, did her hair up in a scruffy ponytail, put on a little bit of make-up, and then headed off downstairs right on time.

Casey reached the first floor to find her mother in the midst of plating the table.

"Hey, Mom," she called.

Nora's face lit up as she turned to see her daughter. "Oh my goodness, Casey, you look absolutely beautiful! Sam is one lucky guy."

"I should think so," Casey murmured hopefully. She didn't know how lucky any guy would be to endeavour a date with her on a three-minute shower and one-minute make-up, but she hoped he would appreciate whatever she'd had the time to do. She still didn't know how _in the world_ she could've possibly fallen asleep – didn't she pride herself on order and structure and discipline, and not to mention control? "Embarrassing."

That's what it was.

"Come again?"

Casey looked up. "Huh?"

"Did you say something?" her mother asked.

Casey blinked. "No," she smiled. "Come on, Mom – I'll help you set the table. None of those monsters came down to help, did they?"

"No," Nora laughed.

Laughing too, Casey then proceeded to help her mom finish preparing the table. Sometime during this attempt, the kids'd come downstairs. So, once done in the living room, Casey set off to find them and get them all settle down for dinner.

She walked into Edwin, Lizzie and Marti in a ring round the kitchen counter, munching on a snack that they probably shouldn't have touched to begin with.

"Marti – don't eat that," Casey said reproachfully, trying to pull the box of animal crackers away from her. "I'm sure you don't want to spoil your dinner."

"But Edwin said I could!"

"Edwin," she scolded, "shouldn't you know better? Dinner's in a minute!"

"Hey, don't look at me," Edwin raised up his hands. "Lizzie wanted to have crackers, too."

"Shut up!" Lizzie snatched the box of crackers from Marti's hands. "I got hungry. Besides, Casey, it's just a couple of biscuits. Relax."

And then Edwin pulled out a bull-shaped cracker. "Yeah –" he laughed, holding it up. "Don't have a cow!"

The lot of them sniggered. How disrespectful and rude! She refused to stand for it – this must've been Derek's teaching. Casey anticipated the day the kids'd gain some sort of good from him. Or any sort at all. Irked and intolerable, Casey grabbed the box from Liz, and held it up high.

"Dinner," she announced. "Now."

"Casey," Lizzie groaned.

"Come on, one more," Edwin begged.

"No! Now go and wash your hands, then get yourself at the table in no less than ten seconds – or I'll give you a time-out."

The two moaned in tandem and left for the living room.

But this lack of a third, higher and squeakier voice should've been an obvious notion to Casey. To be honest, she'd hardly ever really noticed or took note of Marti's place in the house – she was usually sight-illusive, too short to be seen from the other side of the counter or up in her room playing with a truck or her teddy bears.

It should've come as no surprise when Marti popped up on Casey's left, staring at her hip.

"Hey, Casey, what's this?"

"If you're trying to distract me, Marti, it's not –"

"This," Marti pulled out a small contact container from her stepsister's side pocket.

"Marti!" Casey jumped. "Give it back! Those are my cherry contacts – I need them for tonight!"

"Crackers or contacts!" Marti issued her ultimatum.

Casey was thinking – and oh my was she tempted – to let the child have a few more crackers before dinner. But she couldn't let herself do it. She didn't want her to spoil her dinner. But, well, then again, he did love it when she had on those cherry contacts. But she couldn't possibly let a boy take over her morals and ethics, could she?

"Okay, Marti," Casey said slowly. "Let's make a deal. I will put down the crackers if you put down my contacts. But the both of us don't touch them till after dinner. Deal?"

Marti pondered this. She smiled. "No!" and then she hurled the box down the garbage disposal.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," George shook his head, surfacing from the pipe. "It's incinerated. I'm sorry, Casey, and I'm sure that Marti is too!" he called into the living room.<p>

"No, I'm not!" Marti screamed back.

Nora sighed weakly, pulling an arm around Casey. "It'll be fine, Case. I bet Sam won't mind."

"He likes them," Casey mumbled, upset. It didn't make the most sense to her. How could Marti have known Casey'd had that box with her? Had she really been that observant or had she been put up to it? Maybe Casey didn't even care at this point. "Let's just forget it," she waved a hand. "I'm – we're almost late for dinner."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, George," Casey nodded.

She waited for George and Nora to make their way into the dining room first, allowing herself just one moment of grief before following after them. On her way to the table, she bumped into the one person she couldn't stand – who, so it seemed, had only now come down for dinner.

"Derek," she spat. "Is it hard to watch where you're going?"

"Casey," he said back. "Is it hard to let me know if I missed Halloween? Clearly, you're dressed to scare the living shit out of people."

Casey watched him. Did she really look that bad?

"I think you're right," she masked her doubt. "It must be the night of living horror – seeing as _you're_ still alive. Be careful while you're out with Em. She might end up running far away from you, screaming as she goes. Isn't that how all your dates end?"

Derek smirked. "My dates end with screams, yes."

Casey flushed. "Well, I –"

"Save it," Derek raised a hand. "Listen – I was helping Marti out with her art project earlier today, and I can't remember where I left that paint-can lid. It probably has wet green paint all over it so let me know if you see it – I don't want the paint to spoil. Okay?"

Casey smiled softly. "Sure," she said, "and that's really nice of you, Derek, to help Marti out. It's sweet."

Derek smiled back.

Casey watched the way his lips curved, slow as treacle. She pulled out her chair and watched him plop down onto his. Making to do the same, she came to land on – instead of the soft plush of cushion – something wet, slimy, and cold. She gasped, rising from her chair. She turned to see what she'd sat on, and low and behold, found a paint can lid sticking to the curve of her jeans.

She peeled it off, disgusted, grimacing at the patch of green paint.

Derek's laughter echoed throughout the entire house. "Oh, right – so _that's_ where I left that lid."

"De-_rek_!" Casey yelled.

"How could you, Derek, you know she's got that date with Sam tonight," George scolded, trying to speak over his son's loud laughter. "Apologize to your sister."

"I don't _want_ his apology," Casey shot in spite.

But she did want justice, and in the thoughtlessness of the moment, grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and heaved them at Derek. She made his laughter stop ringing almost immediately – not a skill everyone in this house had. She stood triumphant for a second or so. But it was only a second, because not long after that, a handful of mashed potatoes was in her face, too.

"Derek!"

"Shut up – you started it!"

"No, _you_ did!"

"Casey," Nora called sternly. "Please –"

But Casey was far too upset to think about order or decency or even her table manners – Derek had messed up her make-up, her contacts were ruined, and so was the outfit she'd spent six hours at the retail mall to find. She was way past mellow now. She was way past it.

Casey reached for a drumstick and hurled it at him.

He ducked; it landed on Edwin's shirt.

"Hey!" Edwin yelled. And then he grabbed one for himself, to hurl back at Casey.

She moved out of the way; it landed on Liz's lap.

Lizzie flew out of her chair. "Edwin!"

And this was when Marti jumped out of her seat, dug both her hands into the peas, and flung them at the whole family. "Food fight!"

* * *

><p>"I'm so disappointed in you, Casey," Nora said sternly. "So disappointed."<p>

George shook his head. "And you, Derek. It's been almost a year and a half since we got married and you still haven't adjusted to Casey being around. I can't take any more of this. I'm not sorry for saying this – you're grounded. Six months. No hockey, no girls and no TV. No computer, no video games, no telephone, no fun. And your date with Emily tonight? Cancelled."

"Same for you, Case," Nora whispered. "That date you have with Sam tonight's cancelled, and you're grounded, too. For three months. No computer except for homework, no telephone and no TV. I'm sorry, honey."

"Mom – not the phone," Casey begged. "Please – I – I'm so sorry for what I did, I just – please!"

"Sorry," Nora sighed, curling her arms around herself.

"Nora and I are taking the kids out for dinner instead. And as an opening ceremony for your punishment," George announced, "I want to see the living room spotless by the time we get back. And I mean spotless."

Derek leant against the railings, covered in cold cream and pie. "Don't worry, Dad."

George's eyes narrowed before moving to Casey's.

"Don't worry, George," Casey mumbled sourly.

George nodded. "We'll be back in two hours." And then he collected the children, took Nora's hand, and left the two to their business.

The first thing that Casey did was turn, and make to leave for her bedroom. She wanted to clean up and maybe cry in the shower for a bit before coming out, pulling on her sweats and coming back downstairs to clean up this stupid mess. Put off, she headed for the stairs. But as she took to the first step, a voice rang out –

"Casey – stop."

She spun to face Derek, looking feeble and pathetic against the stairway.

"Case, I –" he started.

"No!" she stopped him cold in his tracks.

"But Casey –"

"Don't," she hissed. "Don't speak to me."

And then she scurried up the stairs as fast as her legs would possibly take her, leaving Derek to imagine that this time, he might have just ruined everything for good.

* * *

><p>Casey took fifteen minutes to shower, change and come back downstairs. She was in a nightdress cut to her knees and a jacket on top because she'd gotten a little cold afterwards. She came down in all preparedness, ready to begin cleaning up the mess in the living room and mess herself up again – but what she found there startled her so hard, she had to stop and take a couple of seconds to figure out what'd happened in her absence.<p>

It was clean.

Everything was in its place – the chairs were aligned, the rug was brand-new, the table was wiped, the plates and dishes and cups and mugs all washed and stacked on the counter, potatoes mopped off the floor and chicken gravy not dripping from the walls. But –how?

"Hey," Derek, clean and fresh, eased himself onto the curve of their kitchen doorway.

Casey stared at him. "Did you –?"

He nodded innocently, but Casey didn't buy it.

"In fifteen minutes?" she asked, casting him a wary eye.

He nodded again, finishing up the cookie he had in his hand. "I hosed off in the backyard, then changed and cleaned the place up for you. It wasn't a lot of work – just looked like it."

"But why? I thought you didn't like me."

"I don't," he replied. "I love you."

Casey's stomach screamed fiercely. She tried to keep from smiling. "Is that why you wrecked my outfit after telling me that it resembled something pertaining to – what was that you mentioned – Halloween?"

Derek kept from smiling too. "That was a good one. But just let me explain – see, the thing is, Case, we've been secretly going out for about a year now. I told you I loved you about three or four months ago. But you still dress like you're trying to catch my eye. I don't understand what that's about, because I don't care what you look like."

"I was just –"

"I know you wanted to look nice for me. But I just – I don't like it. I don't know why. I put the lid on your chair to force you to change into something more comfortable for yourself. So I'm sorry I messed your outfit up."

"Our plans are all messed up, too," Casey reminded him.

He blinked, confused. "Our plans ? Case – our plans were to lie and say you had a date with Sam, that I had a date with Em. We were supposed to leave together after that. It was just to get away from the family. Instead, they've grounded us and left themselves. Isn't it sort of the same thing upside down?"

Casey crossed her arms. "But was it really worth it? I mean, think about it. Just for that little stunt you pulled, Derek, the both of us are grounded."

"I know," he grinned. "Isn't it great?"

"In what warped, twisted world would it be great?"

"In this one, the one where you're my stepsister," Derek said a little more seriously. "Imagine this – the entire house leaving for movies and outside dinners and Lizzie's soccer games and Marti's ballet lessons, leaving us alone at home more often. On the plus side, we'd have to lie and sneak out less. I know you don't like that so I figured why not, eh?"

"So you planned us getting grounded?"

He smiled at her.

She found herself smiling back at him too – slowly, but so very surely. "Smooth. But it was totally evil of you not to clue me in."

Derek broke out into soft laughter. He reached out and then pulled Casey toward him, enveloping her in his embrace. "I'm so sorry. Forgive me?"

"Before you'd even asked."

"I love you," he whispered.

Casey didn't have to think. "I love you too."

After that, she closed her eyes and let him kiss her. It felt so good to have his lips touching hers. She couldn't put her finger on why, exactly – she'd kissed boys before. Sam, Max, even Truman. But there was something about Derek's kisses that left her dying for more, something that left her ravenous. She guessed that it was because she was in love with him – maybe, possibly. She'd never been in love with anyone else before.

Her arms snaked around his neck as he moved deeper into the kiss. He brought a hand up to her face, opened her jaw with a thumb and slipped his tongue in past her lips. The soft, warm mass pressed to hers, a slow and passionate dance, an intricate massage of ecstasy.

But then his hands were lowering. They moved downward, brushing past her shoulders and breasts and landing on her waist. To hold her, Casey presumed, but soon realized she'd presumed so very wrongly. As with Derek, there was never any predictability. He took her by the waist and hoisted her up, setting her down on the dinner table.

That wasn't just it, though. He climbed up on the table with her too.

Casey frowned as he came over her. "Derek," she scolded.

He kissed her collarbones. "I love it when you say my name like that."

"Derek –"

"Oh yeah. Just like that," he nibbled on her skin.

"De-_rek_!" Casey grabbed his hand as he tried to drag down the zipper of her jacket. "No!"

"Unable – to – compute."

"Derek," Casey laughed. "I'm sorry but we can't. I mean, it would've been so much more different if we'd gone out in your car but we're home – we're on the dinner table – so no. I don't want to do it. Not here. Not now."

"Do what?"

"Shut up, you know what."

"Say it."

Casey took a moment. "Have sex," she breathed.

He smiled. "My dad said they'd be back in two hours. They still have an hour and a half left. I'm pretty sure we'll be done by then – and if we're not," he raised a finger, "the door's locked. If we're not done or if they decide to come back early, we'll have at least a ten-second head start before they actually open the door and come in."

"Ten seconds to do what?"

"I don't know – roll off the table and hide?"

"Do you really think that'd work, Derek?" Casey watched him. It scared her that he looked so serious. "The door is right over there. If our parents come home and we're not ready, they'll open the door to see their kids doing it on the dinner table – where they eat!"

Derek seemed gleeful. "Isn't that exciting?"

"No!"

"Isn't it turning you on?"

"No."

"Is _this_ turning you on?" he pulled down her zipper despite protest and took a breast in his hand.

"No?"

He squeezed her nipple between his fingers.

"Okay – yes – yeah – but I hope you know I don't approve of this!"

"Don't worry –" he smiled, "– you will be, by the time I'm done with you."

Casey groaned as he discarded her jacket and slipped down the straps of her nightdress. She wanted to convince herself she'd done it out of disgruntlement. Because as much as she loved Derek, she hated the side of him that was so spontaneous and risqué. She feared it might land them where they ought not to be. But the truth of it was, at the end of each and every day, that Casey groaned because she loved Derek's touch.

It sent electricity sparking through her veins.

It was difficult not to make any sort of noise at all – in fact – as Derek took both her breasts into his hands and held them, even maybe enjoying the full weight in his palms. He looked it, too. He bent in to kiss her left nipple, then her right. He couldn't actually pick a favourite, and this was what Casey loved the best about him – how he treated every part of her with such careful concern, how he never left anything out.

He took the left into his mouth, sucking and nibbling gently so as to not hurt her too much. His hand kept the other company. He switched a minute after, suckling on her right nipple and greatly compensating the other with his fingers.

Casey writhed underneath him.

Soon after, he was hiking up the hem of her dress. So Casey didn't exactly want to let him know this, but she was keeping one eye safe on the door – just in case someone might come back. But it was hard, oh so hard, to concentrate on anything but the way he was touching her.

Derek's dextrous fingers slid up and down the length of her core, eyes glued to hers, watching her face twist and contort in all of her pleasure.

His lips curled. "Do you like that?"

She turned her head away, still indignant.

He only pressed harder into her, rubbing up and down, not entering. "Do you like that?" he asked again.

Casey stayed silent. She couldn't possibly tell him she did. She couldn't possibly prove him right! Could you really blame her at all? Or maybe she refused to speak because she knew Derek'd do just about anything to make her scream.

But he only took his hand away.

"Derek –" Casey gasped out.

This was how he made her admit – be it voluntarily or not – that she wanted him, needed him, on her. Smug, he continued his ministrations. This time he pulled aside her underwear first and let a digit slip inside. The heat of her wrapped him quickly, grabbing his finger as it moved in and out, in and out, causing her all sorts of spasms.

He pushed another one in too, his thumb manoeuvring at her clitoris. Shortly after, she felt the soft heat of his tongue take a run at her, too. There could've been no better joy in there world, right there, right then, because Derek was all she needed to make her so happy – so blissfully happy.

She reached her peak, back arching against the mahogany of their dinner table.

"Oh – God – Derek –"

He smiled and kissed her between the legs before surfacing. So much for that, because then Casey was grabbing him by the neck of his shirt and pulling him back down toward her. She kissed him fervently on the mouth before flipping him over and slamming the boy back down, hard.

"Fuck –" he swore at the pain.

Casey took his face in his hands. "I'm not sorry," she kissed him.

He kissed her back, and she tasted herself against him – soft and thick and salty. It pained her. She needed to taste him, too, for the ache demanded she did so. She loved going down on him – she loved being in control.

Casey slipped lower, and undid the buckle of his belt. It was also sort of easier in this position to watch the door. She made sure not to make it obvious that she was as she pulling the thick purple ridge out of Derek's fly. He was really huge – the first time they'd done this, Casey'd been afraid he would break her in half.

A while after, she had developed a taste for him. Something like a favourite drink or snack or movie. Something you just could never get enough of.

She began to stroke him, watching Derek's eyes roll back in his head with indefinite bliss.

She didn't waste too much time in taking him whole into her mouth, dragging him in and out smoothly. She kissed the tip of him and tasted him very well, each feeling more amazing than the next. Before she knew it, he was grabbing at her hair.

"Casey – stop," he croaked out.

She blinked, looking up. "But I thought you liked –?"

"I do – but I – fuck – I'm going to explode if you don't grab me right now."

"Grab you?"

"Squeeze – right here," he guided her hand to his base. "Do it!"

She did do it, and felt his body shudder, ripple underneath hers.

"Derek, are you okay?"

"No, but I will be," he murmured.

He pulled her up and turned her over violently. He pressed her back against the table, his body coming over hers like a storm cloud. And when he rammed into her, Casey was sure that he had knocked something out of her for good.

He bucked against her needingly, hands trying to keep good balance as he thrust into her harder and harder.

During the course of this – Casey wasn't exactly sure when – Derek's hand accidentally knocked over the vase on the side of the table, the one he was sure they wouldn't come to touch. It fell to the floor, breaking to smithereens.

"Fuck," he swore again, but didn't bother to look over the edge of the table to glance at it.

Casey, on the other hand, had trouble removing it from her mind – even with Derek jerking against her, inside of her. Even as he begin to swell, clutching at her. Even as he cried out and finally spilled into her, screaming her name.

He settled against her, stomach tensing, his hands spasming open and shut – and Casey received him wholly. She let him rest between both of her breasts and stroked his hair as he did so, until his breathing became even once more.

"Oh God, that was so good," he panted.

"It was."

"I love you, Case."

"And I love you," she smiled weakly.

He smiled too, and they both laid there in silence for a while or so. But only until Derek shifted, looked up at her, and asked so pointedly – "You can't get that fucking vase out of your head, can you?"

* * *

><p>"It's so sexy that you're neat."<p>

Casey rolled her eyes at Derek's lame joke, collecting the little pieces of broken glass. "I'll clean up the vase, Derek, but I'm not cleaning up all of this sarcasm – be careful, you're dripping an awful lot all over the floor."

He smirked. "I was being serious."

"Sure."

He just looked at her clean for a second.

They were both under the table now, trying to make sure the vase got cleaned up before their parents came back home. Casey found that having Derek watch her made it so much harder. Could you ever do anything with someone harping down your neck about it?

"I have a confession to make," he said suddenly.

Casey looked to him. "What?"

"Okay," Derek took a breath. "But you can't be mad at me. Promise?"

She scrutinized him. "No."

"Okay – just don't beat me up."

"No promises, Derek. Now what'd you do?"

His lips twisted. "I… I sort of put something in your drink earlier."

"Derek?" Casey's eyes widened.

"It wasn't anything poisonous," he raised his hands at once. "It was to make you go to sleep so you'd wake up late and not get ready for our date."

"Derek!" Casey hit him. "How could you? I lost valuable study time!"

"And I sort of asked Marti to take your contacts and throw them down the garbage disposal too," he grimaced. "Don't hit me please."

Casey exhaled, turning away. "I thought you liked those."

"I do – I mean – I did. I don't anymore. I just want you for you now."

She smiled softly. "I guess it's sweet. But they cost so much money."

"I'll pay you back every cent," he swore, "in kisses."

Casey grinned at this. "That," she moved to him, "is a payment I accept."

Derek leant in, and started to kiss her softly.

But it hadn't been two seconds until they heard the locks begin to clink. Scrambling to get back up in time, the both of them slammed their heads – hard – up into the underside of the table. Derek swore and Casey, silent in her pain, rubbed her crown as she rose to see Marti running in through the door, squealing as she did so.

Edwin and Lizzie came in next, in a small argument about something Casey wasn't so much interested in – video games or something of the sort.

After that entered George and Nora.

Nora seemed calmer now, much less furious than she had been before. Casey couldn't quite say the same for George, though – with eyes like a hawk's and a nose like a bloodhound's, he scanned the living room. The cleanliness startled him. Obviously, he hadn't expected that the both of them could be around each other long enough to work together to complete a task.

Clearly, he was mistaken, because he'd given her one hell of an orgasm.

"Wow," George gave a low whistle. "This is really clean."

Casey smiled. "Thanks."

It was then that his eyes moved over to the vase. "Oh, God. What happened to that? It wasn't on the table when we were having dinner!"

"I –"

"I knocked it over," Derek admitted, stepping up to his dad. "I'm sorry, it was my fault."

George's eyes set on him. "That was Nora's favourite vase, Derek."

Nora sighed. "It's alright. I can get a new one. What matters is that this place is spic and span. The both of you should get up to bed now, anyway. So finish up with it and go."

The kids nodded, and soon both the adults had left. Upset, Casey then turned to Derek.

"That was so close, Derek," she warned. "Too close."

He didn't look like he cared too much. He only gave a low grunt, moving to catch Edwin in time as the boy passed them. "Ed," he commanded. "Sandwich. Two minutes. Upstairs in my room. Oh, and I want a foot massage, too. Go."

"But Derek, me and Lizzie –"

"I said go."

Casey watched Edwin stumble away, muttering under his breath. She grabbed a fistful of Derek's shirt, and pulled him back her direction. "Derek," she said. "Did you not just hear me? They could've caught us."

"They won't," Derek assured dreamily, smiling back at her. "I think you need to relax. We've been at this for a year, alright? So just take a pill and chill. Everything's going to be fine. Do you want me to stay with you while you clean up the vase? Or do you want me to help?"

"No," she sighed. "It's alright. You can go."

"Sure?"

"Sure," Casey confirmed.

He smiled. "Alright, then. I'll be in my room if you need me tonight."

"Mmm," she turned to the vase. God, it was such a mess. And her mother's favourite, too… "Nice work, by the way," she muttered to him as he left.

He looked back at her from the stairs and only smirked. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, so... it was a dream. BUT THEY DO FIND OUT IN THE END, I ASSURE YOU! so keep reading and reviewing and lemme know how it goes! if you want me to make any changes or anything like that. :) also if you'll notice I kept the element of conflict between Casey and Derek, because that's what they're known for. Lots of people write them in love and forget that it's the fighting that makes them so exciting in the first place! So I had to keep that element. Hopefully I pulled it off well. READ! REVIEW! THANK YOU!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3, Trusting Blood

_DO NOT OWN. DO NOT OWN. hehe, here I am. enjoy! this story has a real cute progression to it, from my point of view. HAVE FUN! SIT BACK AND RELAX! 3_

* * *

><p>Casey turned over in her bed.<p>

It was one in the morning, and she still couldn't sleep. It was becoming something of a habit for her these days to lay there in the dark of her bedroom and stare. Just stare. Stare at her arm or the ceiling or maybe even her toe, her dresser, her study table, her door. She found she had to stay up, focus on something – or else she'd have another bad dream.

It wasn't uncommon for her, during times like these, to let her mind venture a little bit. She liked thinking about Derek, for one. She liked thinking about times when he'd whispered in her ear to tell her how much he loved her, or times when he'd pounded into her so hard she thought he'd rip her in half... Other times, she found her mind wandering into dangerous territories – regret and repent.

She loved Derek. She loved him to death, she did.

But there were certain times when Casey revisited the first day she'd met him, and wished to God she could've taken everything back.

_ He had eyes the colour of chocolate. Hair the colour of dirt. He had shaped cheekbones and strong, broad shoulders. He had this chest that was wide and pushed out, alpha male, leader of the pack. He had big, muscular arms, visible through the sleeves of his fitting shirt. They flexed every time he made a hand gesture or shifted the books in his arms. He had a commanding, powerful stride that seemed to say – if not anything else – "I own this land."_

_ And Casey couldn't take her eyes off of him._

_ She'd never been one to go for looks. In fact, she hated going for looks. She felt shallow and repulsive doing that, and had told one to many of her friends off for doing so, too. But at that moment, that one fated moment, the only thing she wanted to do was slam that boy up against the lockers and kiss him – she was almost sure that he would taste every bit as sweet as he looked. Every bit as –_

_ "Derek."_

_ Startled, Casey snapped out of her little trance long enough to realize that Emily had spoken. "What?" she gasped, a little caught off guard._

_ "His name's Derek," Emily repeated, amused._

_ Casey blinked._

_ "The boy you're staring at?"_

_ "Oh," Casey blushed. For some reason, that name sounded a little familiar to her. "No," she turned back into the locker, "I wasn't staring at him."_

_ "Oh, shut up," Emily taunted. "You were so staring at him."_

_ Casey had only just met this Emily character five minutes ago, when she'd arrived here looking for a locker she had to share. She hadn't expected they'd move so quick into talking about boys or even remotely discussing the topic at all. She usually only talked about boys with her Mom, or Lizzie, and it seemed really stupid to think about talking of a boy she hardly knew, but –_

_ "I was," she admitted sheepishly, turning back around so she could look at him again. "Oh, God, he's so beautiful. Do they get any closer to heaven than this?"_

_ "No," Emily giggled. "I've had a crush on him since forever, but – well – forget it. We're bottom of the food chain. He only dates really popular, really pretty girls. But," Emily looked her up and down, "I guess you could pass. You're really good-looking, and you have a great body, too. Pilates?"_

_ "Yoga and ballet," Casey answered. "But – no – I don't even know him." she turned again indefinitely._

_ "Hockey captain and all-star athlete. MVP in intra and inter-country Hockey championships, MVP of every season he's ever played in. Average C+ grades each semester, and at least two fail grades per term. I have a list of his lesson times, his class schedules and his seat allocations, not to mention a very up-to-date list of every girl he has ever dated, complete with phone number and address if you ever want to make a reference," she pulled out a sheet of paper from her file. "Oh, and those are his friends – Sam and Ralph. You might want to rub them right if you want to make it into Derek's good books."_

_ "Wow," Casey breathed, staring at her. "Welcome to creepville, population you." She paused a second, then took the paper from her. "Give it here…"_

_ "Forget it, though," Emily smiled._

_ Casey's lips twisted. She didn't want to, but knew she had to for her own good. I mean, come on. This was a boy she barely even knew for God's sake. She was only crushing on him because he looked like such a God, and it'd probably go away. Emily was right, too. This Derek person could never –_

_ Emily gasped._

_ Casey looked up. "What?"_

_ "He's looking at you. I think he's going to come over."_

_ "He's not."_

_ "Shut up," Emily hissed, and grabbed the paper from Casey's hand. "Act cool. Be nice. Don't stutter. And don't talk about studying or whatever, because you seem to like that, and he doesn't. Meet me by the fountain when you're done!"_

_ And with that, she scurried off in a hurry. Casey stood there, confused and dazed, wondering what'd happened – when just then, she caught the cutest boy in school begin to approach her. Casey guessed that was why Emily'd run like that in the first place – because she thought that Derek was going to come over and talk to Casey._

_ She turned into her locker again._

_Yeah, right. He was probably just going to walk right past her. So then Emily'd run away for nothing, because there was no way this boy was going to –_

"_Hey."_

_Casey's heart stopped. Oh, Lord. She took a breath and turned her head to see Derek lean up against the locker adjacent to hers._

_ She'd always been known for her forwardness, and especially with boys – she was frank and told them how she felt almost all the time. It left them little to guess, and moved things so much smoother most of the time. It was really difficult for her to feel shy around a boy, and though the feeling was beginning to tickle her, she managed to keep her ground. He was hot, but he was just a boy._

_ "Hey," she said back to him._

_ He smiled._

_ She tried not to die._

_ "You must be new here. I don't think I've seen you around before," he said, eyes boring into hers._

_ "I just moved here," Casey told him._

_ "I'm Derek."_

_ "So I've heard. I'm Casey."_

_ "That's a beautiful name," he said. "Do you need any help getting around, Casey?"_

_ Casey paused, and thought to herself for a moment. She didn't know this boy. She didn't know this town. She didn't know this school or this place or its people at all. Would it be smart to go with her instincts? To start to weave an intricate relationship with a boy she hardly knew? Maybe she should let things sit and settle for a while before doing so, but the feeling of need overwhelmed her._

_ The longer she stared into his eyes, the longer she wanted to do it. The more she wanted to kiss him. Straddle him. Make love to him. He was making her feel things she hadn't ever felt before, and he wasn't even touching her – clearly this was something interesting to be observed._

_ So Casey smiled, and nodded._

_ "I'd love it if you could show me around," she said._

Casey chewed on the memory. That'd been her turning point. If she'd just said no, if she'd told him to find some other girl to bother, maybe she wouldn't have put her family in such a distressing position; after all, they were two step-siblings, in the same house, having sex. It was sick. It was disgusting, and it was unacceptable. But she hadn't known at that point that Derek was her new brother.

That ought to count for something, right?

Casey stayed up to the sound of this thought, afraid that maybe – just maybe – it'd been a bad idea.

* * *

><p>For some reason or another, Derek awoke with a start the next morning at six. Friggin' six. He couldn't go back to sleep though he was still a little tired, and so he'd decided to just get the fuck up anyway.<p>

It was a Sunday, and that meant lazy mornings.

The whole family would be at home today. Their usual routine would be to wake up at around noon, watch a couple cartoons with the kids and then have lunch together. After that, they'd take some time out to go somewhere nice. Sundays were family days, and Derek was looking forward to this one. He couldn't wait for everyone to leave, to go about their business, so he could have some good quality time with Casey.

And, he figured, why not jumpstart it? Everyone was asleep, right?

He climbed out of bed, staggered a little – still sleepy – and then made his way across the hall to his step-sister's bedroom. She was in her bed, spread-eagled and fast asleep. In the soft light filtering through her thin curtains, she looked aglow. Like she could've been an angel or something fallen mistakenly from heaven. Something stuck on earth, with him, as harsh punishment for false accusations.

He watched her sleep for a second before noticing her alarm clock. It was set for 6:30. He knew she liked to wake up and study in the mornings.

And no, he didn't know what the fuck was wrong with her either.

He moved over quietly and shut it off so she wouldn't have to wake too soon, then sat by the side of her bed. She was tired, he could tell. She hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of days. She was a little… preoccupied with her thoughts more often these days. She was upset that they were taking this relationship of theirs a little too far. She feared that someone might find out, but Derek knew for a fact that this was the first time in her life she'd done something as risqué as this – fucking her own step-brother.

Naturally, she should feel unsure. A little uncertain. Afraid.

But he wasn't. He wasn't at all, because he knew that Casey McDonald was the girl for him, the one that he'd been looking for his whole life. He loved her and wanted to spend his life with her – even if it hadn't started out that way.

_ She had the softest, sweetest blonde hair, the clearest lemon-fresh skin. She had full cheeks and full pink lips, ones he wanted to kiss till they bruised. She had these slim, soft shoulders and slender curves. She walked with a kind of gentle grace. Dancer, Derek guessed. She had legs that went on forever, and fuck, she had the tightest little ass he'd ever seen on a girl._

_ The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew he had to have her. He had to – he was Derek Venturi. The Derek Venturi. He could land any girl he wanted, and this was a challenge he was excited to embark upon. He'd be the first to tap this chick._

_ And, she'd agreed to letting him show her around the school, too._

_ Derek smiled at her. "Are you sure?"_

_ She smiled back. "Yeah."_

_ Was it just him, or did she have some sort of amorous desire in her eyes, too?_

_ "Come on," he gestured for her to follow him. "I'll show you where all your classes are."_

_ Of course, he had to court her first, before he could get into her pants. That was a line of action well known. So Derek spent the next fifteen minutes or so taking Casey down the rows of classes and up the different levels, showing her where each and every one was so that she could find her way later in the day. He showed her the cafeteria and the art studio, woodshop, the hockey rink and the basketball court too. The last stop on the list was the ballet studio._

_ By then, Derek was already sporting a raging hard-on. His jeans were so tight it was painful – painful to see Casey walking in front of him, her pert, tight ass twitching before his very eyes, her legs, so long and smooth. Her breasts bounced when she laughed but ever so slightly, and they seemed just the perfect size for her. In the hockey rink, it'd been cold, and when he'd seen the little nubs of her nipples pushing against the cloth of her shirt, he'd gone nuts._

_ Now, at the ballet studio, he was only hoping that she wouldn't break into a fucking split or something, because he'd lose it. He'd fucking lose it in his pants._

_ "Oh, my God," Casey whispered, entering the room. "This is so beautiful."_

_ "Yeah, you are," he returned._

_ Casey turned to look at him, casting him a wary eye. "This reminds me of my old days, when I used to dance," she told him._

_ His heart fell. No. Oh fuck no._

_ She shut the door, locked it, and slipped off her jacket. Beneath it, her pale skin stood out clear against the mahogany of the rest of the room. She was in a tight blouse and a skirt that swished with her steps as she moved to the centre of the floor._

_ She started to hum a slow show tune and then moved to it, languid and sensual. She did a gentle number and he watched from the side, legs crossed. She moved from side to side and curved sickeningly sweet, but when she reached her leg up and held it behind her head in a perfect ballerina pose, he fucking lost his mind._

_ Derek charged at her, taking her shoulders in his hands. He was so violent, so in need, he knocked her over; the both of them fell to the floor in a heap, Casey taking the brunt of the fall. She lay underneath him, spellstruck, as he pinned her back, glaring down at her with desire. He pressed himself against her so she'd feel his erection, thick, brick, throbbing, against her soft core._

_ "Fuck," the words poured out of his mouth. "Goddamn, you are so fucking hot, Casey. It's all I can do not to rape you right now."_

_ He thought that Casey would slap him and make a beeline for the door right then. He honestly thought she would. But she only smiled back at him vivaciously, eyes glittering with a kind of magic he couldn't put a word to._

_ "Do it," she whispered._

_ His eyes widened. "What're you –?"_

_ "Do it," she said again. "I want you, too, Derek."_

_ Goddamn. Where the fuck had this chick fallen from?_

_ Derek scrambled to get his jeans off, and then hiked up her skirt just enough for him to pull down her underwear. He stroked himself for two seconds before plunging into her full-force, making her scream out so hard that the walls echoed her pain._

Casey'd been a virgin then, and he'd taken that from her. Sometimes Derek did wish he could go back and change things, that he could've had sex with her after realizing his true feelings – not having acted on an impulse, a whim. Because he wanted to 'tap that chick'. Because he'd been such an immature piece of shit.

Stroking her hair now, he could see all the ways that he was meant to be with her.

This was the girl God had intended for him to marry. To be with for life.

"Mmm…"

He shifted.

Casey'd begun to rouse.

So apparently she didn't need the alarm clock.

Derek moved in toward her, letting her mould her body to his. He slipped an arm around her to guide her head to his chest and let her rest there for a second.

"Derek," she murmured. "What time is it?"

"It's six-forty," he told her.

Casey looked up at him. "Oh my God, my alarm clock didn't go off?" _Now_ she was fully awake. She turned to her bedside table to check it, and found it turned off. "Der-_ek_," she groaned, flipping back to see him. "You turned my alarm clock off?"

"It's fucking Sunday, Case."

"So?"

"So," he pressed, "rest. You're much too stressed these days."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are," he said in a singsong voice.

"No, I'm not," she replied.

"Yes, you are," he repeated. "And you know what? I think I know how to help."

"Derek, what're you –?" he reprimand broke off into giggles as Derek dove under her sheets, pulling down her pyjama pants.

"Just close your eyes," he whispered, his voice resonating between her legs, "and let me take you places you've never been before."

He felt Casey's body go entirely still, felt her breathing become steady, and then he moved in towards her. He placed a soft kiss on her core. She tensed up a little at this, but he put his hands on her hips to remind her to be down and stay down, while he did this for her. It wasn't often that they had the time to enjoy simple pleasures like these.

He parted her with both fingers, letting his tongue run over her clitoris.

She shivered, trying to remain calm.

He did it again, and this time ran his tongue from her clitoris all the way down. The third time, he went deeper, pressed his tongue harder into her. He tasted every inch of her, pushing and prodding and discovering new sounds that she hadn't made before. He slipped two fingers inside and pumped slowly, let another circle at her clitoris, his littlest finger pushing against her anus. He did this and felt her legs shake around him, curling shut around his neck.

He lifted a hand to place on her stomach and began to suckle at her clit; he elicited a loud growl from deep in her chest, and knew he was on the right track. He continued to do it until her back was arching high off of the bed. And then, two seconds before she'd reach down to tug at his hair and scream his name, he let go of her.

He peeled away his mouth and his hands, and grabbed hers when she attempted to finish the job for herself.

"Derek," she moaned as if in pain. "God, you just tick me off so bad, I –"

"Shh," he told her.

When she settled down, he repeated the process again. He did it to her three or four times, until he was sure that she would enjoy it wholly and thoroughly – and then he finally let her have a brain-numbing, mind-blowing orgasm that jolted her bones, pounded through every vein in her body, pulsed through every synapse. She screamed out just like she had done the first time they'd had sex, this time so much louder, so much more satisfied.

She fell back against her bed, sweaty and tired, but so contented.

Her eyes were glazed over with delirious glee as she looked at him.

He moved back up toward her.

"Come here," she whispered, pulling him nearer.

He was happy to let her kiss him as a reward, much like a treat after performing a trick right. He smiled at her when she pulled away.

She looked like she was on drugs.

"That was so good," she muttered to him, lips in a poised smile. "Oh, God, Derek. I haven't slept all night, and suddenly, I feel so…" she yawned. "I feel so…"

"Don't finish that," Derek told her softly, and only held her as she drifted off in his arms.

After a while, he too was out like a light.

* * *

><p>"Casey?"<p>

Casey's eyes fluttered open to find a small figure by the side of her bed. She rubbed her eyes to see Edwin.

"Edwin," she said hoarsely. "What is it?"

"What is it?" he repeated incredulously. "I have to go for Jimmy Burn's birthday party today, and Dad said he can't drive me – he hit another police car two days ago and apparently didn't tell any of us. Nora can't drive, and I can't find Derek, so you're going to have to drive me there !"

Casey sat up. "Derek," she realized. "You can't find Derek?"

"Nope," Edwin shrugged. "I think he snuck out or something."

Funny. Because Derek's legs just so happened to be entwined with hers at the moment. She turned to check that the sheets were pulled up all the way, and was relieved to see that they were covering the boy completely. She sighed.

"Okay – just – wait downstairs for me and I'll be right there," she told Edwin.

"Be quick," Edwin left her bedroom.

Groaning, Casey poked at Derek. "Derek, wake up, it's – it's almost ten," she checked her clock. "Derek."

He didn't stir.

"Derek?"

Still no sign.

"Derek!" Casey shoved him hard; he rolled off of her bed and landed with a thud on the floor.

"Ow! The fuck did you do that for?" he sat up to look at her.

"How else was I supposed to wake you up?"

"I don't know, with a kiss?"

"Derek, you wouldn't wake up even if I had a million girls kiss you."

"See, now that really would depend on the situation," he smirked.

"Shut up," Casey muttered. "You have to drive Edwin to some kid's birthday party. George's licence is suspended."

"Why can't you?" Derek groaned.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to drive your car," Casey said smugly, watching him curl up on the floor.

"Alright," Derek said. "Why don't we both go? Then we'd at least get some time to spend together, huh?"

Casey smiled. She settled down by him on the floor and kissed his cheek. "That'd be nice."

* * *

><p>It turned out that Jimmy Burn's birthday party was in the town next to theirs. It was an hour's ride down there, and a real gas-consumer. Derek wasn't happy, not in the least, because he paid for his own damn gas. Part of him felt like extorting the price from Ed himself, but decided to let it slip by. He was, after all, also on a date with Casey.<p>

And out of town was a good thing – no one here would really know them, and it'd be like a fresh start. He couldn't wait to take Casey somewhere and be able to hold her hand, in public, without someone looking at them wrongly. He could kiss her, too – he could even grab her ass!

Not that she'd allow that in public, but still?

Either way, he had to settle Ed's business first – and as top dog, Derek did what he had to do by setting down hard rules.

"It's almost noon," he declared. "I'm giving you six hours at that party. That's his house down the block, from the address you gave me. Casey and I'll be heading down for a bit, and we'll be back quickly. So you get back here at six sharp, on the dot, no earlier, no later, or –" he grabbed Ed's shirt, "– you'll be paying for my mileage."

Ed swallowed, eyes wide. He nodded. "But what if I come back here six sharp, on the dot, no earlier, no later, and you're not back yet?"

"Then you wait in the car, stupid. I'm serious, Ed. Be here or no ride home. You'll walk the whole way back, you got me?"

"Where are you and Casey going?" he asked, intrigued. "Aren't you supposed to be grounded? Dad and Nora told you guys to stay in the car and study."

"I'm going to count to three."

"Bro, chill, I just wanted to –"

"One."

"Derek, seriously?"

"Two," he threatened.

And at this, Edwin flustered. "Alright, alright, I'm leaving!"

Derek watched the boy head off, satisfied. He turned to see Casey throwing him the most ridiculous look, like as if she was reproachful of how he was acting. But then again, she'd thrown him that look so many times now that it was beginning to look a little sexy on her.

He smiled and waited for Ed to disappear before taking his girlfriend's hand. "Mademoiselle."

"Shut up," Casey blushed. "You shouldn't treat Edwin that way, Derek. I mean, he's your brother, and –"

"Come on," Derek cut her off playfully. "I know a really cool mall three or four blocks down."

To be honest, Derek hadn't ever really _gone out_ with Casey before. Well, they _were_ in a committed relationship, but it'd always been very difficult for them to leave the town, or even the neighbourhood. Casey was almost always busy with her studies, and he with Hockey. The only time they had to spare was (on lucky days) those few hours after dinner. And even then they had to stay close to home – proximity warnings from the 'rents.

So this was a first, and aw _fuck_, did it feel good.

They'd left the parking lot and walked the entire way down to Harpkin Mall. Sometime or another, Casey's hand had found its way into the back pocket of his jeans. Of course, Casey had felt up his ass many a time – but there was just something about having her hand in his pocket, something about knowing she felt like she had to hold on to him, something about feeling like a real couple.

His own arm had curled around her shoulders, fingers fidgeting with the strap of her bra.

They'd talked about their lives on the way down. They'd talked about plans for the future, wedding dreams, marriage, children, careers, everything. Even if they hadn't met eye-to-eye on certain things – and even if Casey had 'accidentally' knocked him into a nearby drainage depression for being a little insensitive – he enjoyed it. He enjoyed being with her and fighting with her and loving her and having her love him back so unconditionally.

Sometimes, he even stepped back to wonder what he'd do without her. Wonder what'd happen if they'd only fucked that once in school. Wonder what'd happen if he hadn't seen her again, if he hadn't been forced to live with her – because, well, let's all face it.

That was how he'd fallen for her to begin with.

_ "I'm home," Derek yelled through, heaving his hockey gear up and setting it on the counter. "Dad?"_

_ "Smerek!"_

_ "Smarti," Derek greeted happily, gathering his little sister in his arms as she came running to him. He spun her around a little before kissing her on the head. "Smarti, the house is so clean. Did Mopzilla hit us or what?"_

_ Marti giggled. "Silly Smerek," she hugged him. "Tonight's the night!"_

_ Derek's eyes grew. "Wait – what?" he set her down next to his gear. "Marti, what're you talking about?"_

_ "Nora," Marti blinked. "Nora's moving in today. I'm gonna have sisters!"_

_ "Fuck," Derek muttered to himself. That was right. Nora was coming to live with them today, and he'd been so caught up with Casey at school and then Hockey practice, he'd completely forgotten. Also, his father'd said something about coming home early to meet the family…_

_ "He's gonna kill you, you know," Marti pointed out._

_ "Yes, I am, Marti," George called from the living room. "Now will you get in here already, Derek?"_

_ His stomach turned a little. Honestly, he hadn't been a willing participant in this marriage. He didn't even know why his father wanted a wife –to cook and clean and manage, of course, but other than that, why? He didn't need a stepmother trying to take his mom's place, and he certainly didn't need any new fucking siblings to deal with. Ed was enough._

_ Ed was a handful._

_ "I'm coming, Dad," Derek grunted._

_ But if there was one sibling he absolutely adored to shit, it had to be Marti. So he swung her up into his arms again, and carried himself, along with her, into the living room._

_ The first person she saw was Nora, looking the same as she'd done the night George had proposed. Not that Derek had personally been there, but from what Geroge'd told him, Nora was supposed to be the last fucking angel left on earth._

_ Or something like that._

_ "Hi," Derek muttered._

_And Nora had brought along her two daughters._

_ Now, George had told Derek about these two girls. Or – well, he had, but Derek didn't quite remember. What he did remember was zoning out during that _new-family_ talk. So when he noticed a girl, a ten year old one, he looked her up and down and asked, "so you're Lacy?"_

_ The girl frowned. "Lizzie."_

_ "Does it matter?"_

_ "Derek, play nice," George said sternly._

_ He rolled his eyes when his father turned away. He moved to the other girl, the older one, to say his hellos and just fucking leave already. But when he laid eyes on her, all cognitive function ceased entirely._

_ Casey._

_ It was –_

_ "Casey," her name scratched past his teeth._

_ She turned to look at him, too, and went red in the face. Tomato-fuckin'-red. Her eyes were as big as the plates in their kitchen cupboards, locked onto his, reliving their every touch, the feeling of him being in her –_

_ "Derek," she hissed, going redder and redder, "oh my God, I –"_

_ "Oh my God what?" Nora asked, turning to them happily._

_ Casey shut up, and Derek watched her expectantly. _Jesus, Dad_, was the only thing he could think. _3,214,983,000 girls on the planet and you pick the hottest one to be my step-sister. _He was going out of his mind with lust already, jeans beginning to tighten again. What were they going to tell their parents?_

_ "I met him in school today," Casey admitted, albeit sheepishly._

_ Derek glared._

_ Nora and George only rejoiced._

_ "Oh, how wonderful," Nora grinned. "That's great that the both of you've already met – it's going to be fun, getting to know each other! Isn't it going to be great having an older sibling, Casey?"_

_ "Derek is quite the big brother," George thumped him proudly on the back. "Somewhat."_

_ Nora laughed. "That's so great to hear. Isn't it, kids?"_

_ Derek's face was twisting. He didn't know what Casey's looked like – fear or happiness or confusion – because whatever the fuck it was, he had to go. He had to fucking leave now, or else he'd blurt something out. He'd look at her wrong. He'd attack her like he'd done today in the Ballet Studio, and he just couldn't take that chance, especially not with how happy his father looked with everything._

_ He grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger and left the house immediately, despite protest, despite his father, despite the fact that the only thing he wanted to do was stay._

Derek snapped back into reality to find Casey staring carefully into his eyes, concerned.

"What?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, looking away.

She was clearly bothered about something. Plus, Derek'd gone out with enough girls to know that _nothing_ meant _everything_.

"Tell me," he insisted, pulling her closer.

She bumped against him. "It's nothing, I swear."

It was nearly going to be six-fifteen in the evening now and they were walking back toward the car. They'd spent the entire time just ambling about and being in each other's presence, and maybe Derek'd drifted off to his daydreams a little too long.

"What is it?" he kept persevering.

Casey sighed, and looked up at him. "I hate this."

Derek took a few seconds to register it, but still couldn't quite understand. "What do you hate?" he asked.

"This, us," Casey flung her arms open. "I hate it. I hate that we have to hide, I hate that you're my brother, I hate that I can't ever be openly happy with you, because our parents got married. It sucks."

"Aw, baby. I know it does," he tried to console. He was never too good at that, but Casey got the message anyway. "I know it's tough, but it's only for a little while, I promise. Once we get our diplomas and save up enough money, I'm taking you right out of here."

"Promise?"

His car was not too far along now, just a couple more feet to the sweet hum of air-conditioning.

"Promise," he told her.

He made to open the car door for her when they reached it, but Casey stopped him. She pushed him up against the metal, and pressed soft kisses to his lips. "Thank you," she whispered between kisses. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I might have a clue," he joked, eyes glued to hers.

He took her head and began to devour her lips, keeping those chocolate eyes of his on hers still.

It was then that he heard a knocking on the window of the car. He thought that maybe it was Casey and her hands as she pressed against him and the glass, but then she was pulling away from him to ask – "Was that you?"

He stared. "I thought it was you."

"It sounded like it was coming from inside," Casey frowned.

And then the both of them peeled away from one another to peer into the Ford's back window, and found Edwin sitting there – watching them – absolutely horror-struck and traumatized.

The first thing Derek could think to do was to get in the car – get in the car, close all the doors, and then talk. It wasn't safe so much to be outside anymore. Nothing felt safe anymore. Jesus – motherfucking – Christ –

He plunged himself inside the car, waited for Casey to scramble in, too, and then slammed the door shut. After that, he advanced on a frightened Edwin, who looked like he was going to scream his fucking lungs out.

"Oh my GOD –"

Derek clasped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up," he growled. "Shut up, Ed, just shut up!"

Ed continued to scream, but the sound only came out hot and muffled against the palm of Derek's hand. He kept it tightly sealed, panicking. He hadn't ever thought anybody would catch him and Casey like this, and maybe she'd been right. Maybe they'd gone too far –

"Listen," he spat. "Stop – stop fucking squirming for two seconds! You can't tell anyone!"

Edwin went still, unsure.

"You can't tell anyone about what you saw," Derek warned.

"Please, please don't tell anyone, Edwin," Casey added frantically from beside him. "Please don't tell anyone."

Edwin only breathed hard, chest heaving. And then he started to scream more muffled words.

"ED!" Derek bellowed.

Edwin went still again, this time a little more calm. Casey sensed this – weirdly enough, Derek couldn't – and she began to explain things gently to him. So he'd just stop freaking the fuck out. Because the more he writhed and acted like this was a sin, the more Derek was believing him.

"Edwin," she began softly, panic still etched in her tone. "Listen to me. It's – it's true. What you saw was real. Derek and I were kissing. But that's only because we're in a relationship. Okay?"

Edwin's eyes became big with disbelief, scooting over to watch Derek incredulously as if to say _Derek? Relationship?_

"I know," Casey soothed. "I share the feeling. But it's not what you think. We're not messing around. We really are in love, and… and we're serious. Please don't do anything that will take this away from us."

"It's true, she's the only one I need," Derek pled for the first time in his life. "Please, Ed."

And then slowly but surely, Edwin gave a stout and stiff nod. It took Derek a while but he eventually released the boy, who then backed up to the side of the backseat, watching his sister and brother warily.

"So you guys are together?"

They nodded.

"But Derek, you hate her," he pointed out. "I mean you're always telling me how you can't stand her prissy tendencies and how she's neurotic about hygiene and –"

"– we don't need to go into that. The point is I do love her, and I want to spend my life with her, alright?" Derek cut him off nervously. "That's the point. And you will keep this secret for us, Ed. Keep it or you'll pay for real."

"I'll keep it, I'll keep it," Edwin swore. "But you do know that Dad and Nora are going to kill you if they find out, right?"

"They won't," Derek assured.

Casey herself seemed unsure. "It'll murder my mom."

Edwin exhaled. "How'd this start, anyway?"

_ When Derek got back home that night, he'd made sure_ _to come home when the rest were asleep. He knew that if his father was up he'd get the ass-whooping of a lifetime – walking out on a family gathering, their first one, in fact. So he returned that night at promptly four in the morning, having drank so hard that he was now completely sober, hung over._

_ But when he stepped into the living room, the lights snapped on. It was light lightning, and it burned his eyes. He doubled over as if in pain._

_ "Fuck –"_

_ "Yes," Casey's voice came. "That's what we did."_

_ He squinted through the light to see her in her nightclothes, a simple slip that he wanted to rip off right then and there. He made a noise, and it almost sounded like a growl._

_ "What do you want?"_

_ She stared at him. "To talk. About what happened at school."_

_ "Nothing happened at school," he muttered. He turned off the lights._

_ Casey turned them on again._

_ "Derek, we had sex," she hissed._

_ Derek breathed out. "Okay. Yes. We did. We had sex, okay? But I didn't know you were my sister, so I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear? Or did you want to know why I didn't take your number? Do you want a relationship? Because I don't do those," he turned off the lights._

_ Casey turned them on again._

_ Her face distorted. "Relationship? With crud like you? Please, Derek, I can do so much better. The only reason I did you was because you're hot."_

_ "Compliment taken," he stated. "You're pretty fucking hot, too."_

_ She shifted shyly. "Thanks."_

_ He looked back at her. "The sex was good, too. You… you're just… I mean, you blow my mind, Casey. I mean I do this to girls, I do it often, but with you it was so different. So different you have no idea."_

_ "I get you," Casey whispered. "It's not like me to do this at all. I swear to you. But in that moment, you made me feel so many things they overwhelmed me, and I just had to have you. I don't know what hit me."_

_ "Animal attraction," Derek smirked._

_ Casey smiled back. "So anyway, it's over, right? We're putting that behind us, becoming brother and sister?"_

_ "Do we have to?"_

_ "Of course," Casey said. "I mean, my mom gave up so much for us to move here and marry you guys."_

_ "Alright, fine," Derek replied, erection throbbing. "That's just fine. We'll forget it ever happened." He turned off the lights. "Unless you want to mourn for what was our short-lived sex life. In that case," he suggested, "is sex allowed during the wake?"_

_ Casey's eyes lit up hopefully. She turned on the lights again. "It has to be."_

_ "But just once more."_

_ She groaned then, and turned away. "Face it Derek, if we do it one more time, then we're going to want to do it again and again and again."_

_ "So let's."_

_ She spun to face him, wild. "Are you kidding? We're brother and sister, we live in the same house now!"_

_ "All the better to eat you with," Derek murmured, pulling her near. "Come on. That's all this will ever be. Sex. Pure, raw sex. That's all I want from you." And that was all he would ever really need. "Just sex."_

_ "I want it too," Casey rejoined. "But what if someone finds out?"_

_ "No one will find out," Derek assured. "I'm the all-seeing master of deceit and lies. Don't you forget that." And then he turned off the lights, began to kiss her, and fucked her brains out on their family couch before going up to bed at five._

"So much for that," Edwin mumbled.

"But we've changed," Casey insisted. "We've changed now. It's not just sex anymore. We're in love. So please, Edwin, promise us you won't tell a soul?"

Edwin stared back indecisively for a moment. Derek was afraid, so afraid, to trust his brother. He knew that Edwin would do anything for him, but he was still so conscious of how Ed didn't know love. He didn't know what it meant to need someone with your entire mind, soul and body, and he probably wouldn't for a really long time.

The only thing he really could do was take the biggest leap of faith he'd ever made, and believe Edwin when he drew a deep breath and avowed: "I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>HEY! I know this one had a lot of flashbacks and I'm sorry, but this chapter was initially supposed to be like a kind of flashback thing anyway... just decided to change it up and merge it with the story... so how'd it go? tell me, review, because if you guys don't review then I won't know how I did, and I won't know what to change or what to do better or anything like that. so any review is welcome. THANK YOU for those who did! :) and lemme know if there's anything I missed or you don't like. god bless!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4, Sister Sweet

_HEY! I know it's been a long time and all (I guess... for me?) but I'm back and here's the 4th installment :) hope you guys enjoy, so grab a beer (or a soda!) and relax :D_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4, Sister Sweet<strong>

"This," Derek announced, "is Marti's old baby monitor."

Ed grimaced, looking down at the contraption laying so helpless in Derek's outstretched hand. And then he looked back up at his brother, weary, awaiting his fate.

"So this is what I want you to do. Radio me as and when you feel it's necessary. Like when Dad and Nora are about to call back to check on Casey and me, or when they've decided to come home, or even if they so much as sound like they suspect anything – _anything_ – between the both of us. Got it?"

Ed nodded grimly. "Do I have to?"

"Shut up," Derek knocked him on the upside of his head. "I'm trustin' you, Ed. Case and I could use a little help right about now."

"Alright, alright!"

"Oh, and keep it off at all times unless you're gonna radio me," he walked over to his dresser to grab a couple of extra batteries just in case. "At all times."

"Why?"

"Because if you turn it on," Derek handed Edwin the batteries, "you'll hear us having hot, passionate sex in every bleeding room of the house."

* * *

><p>"Edwin! Time to go!"<p>

"He'll be right down, Mom! Okay, so don't forget what I told you," Derek instructed, hurrying his brother down the stairs. "Remember – anytime they want to call or talk about us or say anything that might sound like they're suspicious and keep the –"

"Radio off at all times, got it," Edwin mumbled, still sounding a little reluctant.

And that wasn't something Derek liked to entertain.

"Listen, Ed," he put a hand on his brother's shoulder and let his fingers bite in hard, "you're going to do this for us. Casey's paranoid about getting caught as it is, and I want to try to ease that tension. You will help, Edwin."

"Wow," Edwin murmured, shocked, "you really are in love with her, aren't you?"

"In love with who?" Nora asked.

Derek and Edwin froze over at the foot of the stairs. Nora was at the doorway, putting on her coat and waiting for the youngest man in the McDonald-Venturi household. "In love with who?" she asked again.

"What?" Derek leaned in to ask pointedly as if he hadn't heard.

Nora only smiled. "I want to hear about her when I get back, Derek," she teased him, then motioned for Ed to join her. "Come on, Honey, everyone's waiting in the car."

"Right." Edwin buried the monitor deeper into his jacket pocket and headed over to her.

"Alright, Derek, I expect Casey and you to behave. The dinner will run quite late so I think we'll be back home latest by one or two a.m. and – please – no friends over?"

"No friends," Derek promised.

"Where's Casey, by the way? I always feel so much more com fortable handing the control over to her before we leave…"

"She's in the tub," Derek rubbed his neck. "I'll let her know when she comes out."

"Okay. Be good, Derek," Nora called.

And those were her last words before she ushered Ed out of the house, and left as well.

Derek felt the hot air rush out of his lungs like a straining balloon finally being released. He felt so good. He felt so free. He felt… himself. It almost seemed as though he owned this house now. As if he was the man, the head, and his beautiful wife was upstairs in the bath, relaxing.

A shiver tickled his back just thinking about it.

And so he grabbed a quick breath mint before making his way up the stairs, taking longer than he usually would in the hopes that it'd build up the anticipation. And when he slipped himself into the bathroom, when he shut the door behind him and laid eyes on Casey in the tub, his senses began to reel.

How perfect she looked, sweating slightly from the heat of the water. Her hair was tied up messily, the bubbles covering her up much too much for his liking. He smiled at her.

"Hey."

"Hi," she returned him gently. "I take it they've left?"

Derek nodded, trying to see her through the soap. He couldn't see much – and it was absolute murder. He pulled off his shirt, preparing to join her, pulling out the baby monitor from his back pocket, too. He set it down by the sink and began to undo his belt.

"What's that?"

"Marti's old baby monitor."

Casey gave a short laugh. "What's it for, Derek?"

"Well," he exhaled, slipping out of his jeans, "I passed the other to Edwin so he could radio me."

"You couldn't just ask him to call you instead?"

"That'd be pointless, considering he doesn't have a phone, and would have to borrow Nora's or Dad's – don't you think?" he asked, pulling down his boxers.

"I don't know," Casey whispered, staring at him. "Why don't you come over here and make sure I stop thinking altogether?"

His lips curved. "I'd be glad to."

He eased himself into the tub behind her, letting his body curl around hers, moulding into her form. His arms came around her, taking her soft, pert breasts, squeezing her nipples. He felt her arch her back against him.

"Does that feel good?"

"Mmm," she purred, nuzzling back against him. "It feels so good…"

"Yeah?" he kissed her neck, trailed a hand down her stomach to cup her between the legs.

"Yeah," Casey groaned.

Her eyes closed sensually, rolling up into the back of her head. Her arms moved back too, curling around his neck to hold him.

He worked a finger at her clitoris, the other still by her breast, teeth nipping relentlessly at the expanse of bare skin lining her neck, her shoulders, her back. They couldn't've pried his hands away from her for anything in the world right then. But it was then that Casey shifted against him, opening her legs a little wider, reaching down to wrap her fingers around the hard length of him.

She started to stroke him.

He let out a loud, animalistic growl, and he was so sure it reverberated through every bone in her body.

It didn't take long before she was moving and easing herself onto him, letting him slide smoothly into her. Derek held himself back from harming her, plausibly holding onto her so hard that her fingernails would leave marks on her, scars, and sometimes even draw blood. He wanted to ram into her, over and over and over, until she was screaming so hard he would wonder to himself if she was doing it in pleasure or in petrifying pain.

Instead, he let her just sit there on him, unmoving.

He was in her, and the heat of her gripped him like no other, but they were unmoving.

Just… unmoving.

And he didn't quite know why, because they'd never done this in all of the days they'd been together – even before he'd fallen in love with her. They were always shifting, pressing, rocking their bodies against one another… but tonight was different in a good way. He'd never known how good it could feel to just _be_. He had his hands on her and she was touching him, too; they weren't even talking. The only sounds in the room were the occasion movement of water, or the pop of a bubble, and the sounds of their deep, long, satisfied breaths.

As if they might have been breathing for the first time.

* * *

><p>Edwin was trying not to breathe altogether.<p>

Jesus Christ – this goddamn restaurant had a kind of smell to it. Like a – like a gingery, garlicky… pretentious smell to it. It smelled like rich old farts, that's what it smelled like. He didn't even know why Nora and his Dad had to bring the entire family here anyway. They could've come themselves.

But then again, if they had, Derek and Casey would've lost a good chance to fuck.

Edwin's face twisted just thinking about it. His brother. And his sister. Well, Casey _was_ his sister, right? I mean, he'd been around her long enough to think so, and she certainly did act so – toward him, anyway. God.

Oh God.

How was he supposed to tell Derek he wasn't okay with all of this?

"Daddy! I have to go potty," Marti sniffled from her chair. She was so small they could only just barely see the top of her head; she poked up from under the table, nose all scrunched up. "I really gotta go!"

"Oh, Marti, you're becoming a big girl now," George said carefully, leaning over to look at her. "Do you think you want to try going yourself, Sweetie?"

Marti's eyes tightened. She started to whine.

"Alright, okay," George got up and then dusted himself. "Come on, cutie, let's go. Anyone else need to pay the ol' piper? What about you, Ed?"

"Nope, I'm good," Edwin muttered, but on second thought, figured that the bathroom might give him some sort of relief – in the sense that he could maybe spend a little time with himself and think things over. This Derek-Casey thing was fucking with his mind, and hard. "You know what?" he got up, "I think I do have to go."

"And I should fix my make-up," Nora murmured, wiping her chin. "Hold on a second guys. Liz, you coming?"

"No," Lizzie groaned. She had her head on the table, tired out of her mind. She hadn't wanted to come, either.

"Alright, we'll be right back, Hon," Nora smiled gently, maybe a little apologetically, and the whole family got up and left for the washrooms.

* * *

><p>Lizzie felt like crap. Honest to <em>God<em> that was how she felt and she really couldn't find any other word to describe it. She was pretty sure she was coming down with something, like a fever of sorts, and she was also rather particularly upset with something that'd happened at school today.

There… There was this boy she'd liked for some time now. His name was Jake, and he was the coolest. Liz couldn't even think of the words to express just how amazing he was – but today, he'd turned all of that around. He'd come after her. But it hadn't been in the way she'd dreamed of all this time; he'd been so much more degrading, demeaning… disgusting.

He'd tried to get fresh with her.

Swear –

They'd been by her locker, talking, and he'd asked her out. Lizzie'd been going out of her mind with ecstasy, oh Jeez, oh sweet Lord, and then he'd put his hand on her waist. That hadn't been the worst part, though. It was when he'd leaned in and kissed her, his hand crawling up to grab her breast, that her heart'd split open.

How could guys be so repulsive?

She thought that she would go home and speak to Casey about all of this. She was the only one alive who could really get through to Liz. She was humble and decent, and always managed to get it past her skull that sex was not what made a relationship. Casey had always taught Lizzie that love had to come first. Then sex.

But it just hurt so bad that Jake had to want the latter first; henceforth he did not love her as she'd mistakenly believed.

At this thought, Liz felt the tears coming on. She knew she couldn't sit here and cry, because if her mother happened to come back, she'd be interrogated to death on who and why and what and where and how – so she got up and decided she would spend a couple minutes outside of the restaurant before returning to their table. With Marti having to go potty (and George taking her, too) they were bound to take a good ten minutes or so.

But as she made her way out, she knocked into Edwin's chair. And then the weirdest thing happened – his jacket fell with a thud. There was a small cracking noise that came from it, then a white crackling noise, and soon after, Liz began to hear voices.

One male, and one female.

"God, this feels so good," the male was saying.

"Mmm… I know…" the female replied him.

Lizzie frowned. The first thing that came to mind was that maybe Edwin had something stashed in his jacket like a kind of transmitter or something that was most probably giving him telecasts of soaps – or radio – or something that could explain these voices. But when she picked up his jacket, she found something that looked like a walkie-talkie, though she couldn't have been too sure. The voices were coming out of it, and they were continuing some sort of conversation. They were rough and not so clear, but she could still make the words out, apparent as day.

"Have I told you how much I love your breasts?" the guy said.

The girl giggled. "I love your stomach. So lean, so soft, so tight…"

He laughed too. "I love your waist."

"I love your arms…"

"I love your sweet, perky ass."

Goodness – Liz turned the damn thing over in her hand and tried to turn it off already, because obviously, whatever gross stunt Edwin was trying to pull, she wanted no part of it – until, of course, something so shocking came out of the thing that she almost sent it flying into the nearest wall.

"So you like my ass, huh?"

"Aw, Casey –"

"Derek –"

"Fuck – that feels amazing –"

"Oh – oh God – oh God –"

* * *

><p>"Fuck!" Derek burst out, exploding into a massive orgasm, letting it course through his nerves, shaking his entire body. He felt himself become bigger and leak his soul inside her, felt her throb around him, felt his heart beat ten million times faster. "Jesus, save me, I think I'm dead…"<p>

Casey panted pleasurably against him, turning over to see his face. "That was great."

Derek nodded. "It was. I love you. I love you so much."

"Did you know not moving at all could make us feel that much?"

"Not – at – all," Derek kissed her with every word. "But God, it felt so fucking good."

Casey smiled. "It did."

They spent a couple of minutes in the silence. Derek curled his arms tight around her after that.

"I'm hungry," he said.

* * *

><p>"And the food's still not here yet?" Edwin groaned, returning back to their restaurant table, "how long have we waited?" he complained.<p>

"Almost an hour and a half," George mumbled, helping Marti get into her seat.

"Maybe we should ask?" Nora suggested.

All of them got back into their chairs, Edwin slumping down hard on his. He was hungry. His food wasn't here. His brother was fucking his sister, and all he really wanted to do was –

"Hey, Mom, maybe we should go home," Lizzie said.

Edwin looked up.

And Nora considered this. "Think about it, George. I mean, it _is_ getting a little late, and Marti _is_ getting a little sleepy…"

"You're right," George sighed. "I guess too much is too much. I'll call the kids –"

"And give Derek a heads up?" Liz snorted. "I don't think so, George. I think we should just show up unannounced and see if he's been sticking to the rules. Hell, the both of them."

George smiled. "I like that. I like the way you think, Liz."

"No –" Edwin stood up. "I think we should call. What if something happened, or –?"

"Edwin," Nora calmed, "relax. I'm sure everything's fine. This will be a pretty interesting experiment, though," she agreed. "I'd like to see what the kids are up to."

Edwin closed his eyes. Okay. So this was what Derek'd been talking about, right? He could do this. All he needed to do was radio the guy. Edwin reached behind his chair for his jacket, groping for it. Two seconds in, he realised that there nothing in it. It was empty – flat. No, it had to be there, the monitor had to be there –

Jesus, Derek would kill him if he –

"Lost this, bro?"

Edwin's eyes shot over to Lizzie. He saw her rising from her seat with her purse over one shoulder, the antenna of the monitor sticking out of the zipper. His eyes grew.

"Give it, Liz."

"Why do you need it?"

"Liz, I said –"

"I asked why you needed it."

At this, Edwin shut up. It came to him in a sudden realization that he wasn't in a bicker with his sister. He was in a ruthless game of divide and conquer, of break and bypass.

"Alright," he asked cautiously. "What do you know?"

"I don't know," Lizzie only replied. "What do _you_ know?"

"I don't know what I know," Edwin murmured back. "But if I knew what I know, I don't know if I can say what I know, because I promised I wouldn't. But if you promised too, you wouldn't be playing cat and mouse with me, so tell me, what do you know?"

"I'm not telling," Lizzie said. "And if you don't tell me, you don't get the walkie back."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his parents pack up their things. It was a pretty quick drive back home. He had to tell Derek now, if he wanted to live later on. But he didn't have time with Lizzie playing games with him. He didn't have time…

"Fine," Edwin said grudgingly. "I'll tell."

* * *

><p>"Mayo?"<p>

"Definitely."

"Do you want ham, too?"

"Why not?"

"And what about tomatoes?"

Derek turned to look at Casey from his chair, frowning. "Jesus, is this the first time you've made me a sandwich?"

Casey looked up from the kitchen counter. "Talk to me like that again, and that'll be the last time I make you one to begin with."

He sat and waited sheepishly for a couple more minutes before Casey was arriving with his jumbo sandwich. He didn't know why he felt this hungry, but she had to be part of the reason; she always was. He smiled and let her settle down on his lap, even though she kind of sometimes blocked the TV that way.

He took a bite of the sandwich.

"Mmm, this is really good, Baby," he muttered, words all muffled by the food. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Casey murmured, moving in to kiss his cheek.

He returned her kisses between chews, and when he finally finished the sandwich, the only thing he could really think about was being inside of Casey again. He wondered if she'd mind, because – well – they'd been having a lot of sex lately, and Derek didn't want to come across as an intercourse addict. Of course, the only thing he really was addicted to was her.

He moved his arms around her and lifted up her shirt, just enough for him to be able to touch her flat stomach. He ran his fingers around her bellybutton. She leaned back into him as he did so, and he took it as permission to continue. He kissed her shoulder, bit down on her neck, then slipped his hand down her shorts.

She jerked slightly.

He felt her breathing tighten and become erratic, and as such he intensified his actions – he moved his hand just a little lower and pressed into her perineum, made her squeal. After that, he circled her asshole.

He knew she liked it. She liked to protest and argue against that even more, but she liked him touching her there the most – and he was well aware of that. Ever since they'd begun to have sex, every time he'd accidently brushed his fingers there, she'd scream. She groan and moan and tug on his hair so hard he thought she was going to rip it out altogether. So he decided maybe he should milk the advantage. Maybe he if played with her ass more, she would actually consider letting him fuck her there.

But Derek was only two seconds into rubbing at her when suddenly, a kind of crackling noise erupted from under him.

Casey lifted off of him, turning.

He rose, too, and pulled the baby monitor out of his back pocket. Edwin was trying to radio him. He let Casey sit back down on him, and for a moment, forgot the world and sat there waiting for some kind of voice to come out.

And a voice did come out – but it wasn't Edwin's, not even close.

It was Lizzie's.

"The car's about ten minutes away from home. If there happens to be traffic, we'll be there in twenty. Go hide your boyfriend, Casey."

It'd in fact taken the family _seventeen_ minutes to get home. Lizzie had counted them down, one by one, herself. She wanted to make sure that she'd given the love bugs enough time to prepare for the arrival of their mom and dad and siblings, enough time for them to stare in shock and wonder just how the hell their well-kept secret'd gotten out. Enough time for at least one of them to feel guilty.

For all she cared, they could've gotten caught.

But it was answers she wanted, answers she needed, and answers she couldn't get if anyone else found out.

When the family pulled into the garage and the kids lugged themselves into the living room, the first thing Nora and George did was assess the cleanliness of the place. They liked to think that with so much time left over and the two oldest kids at home all the time, they'd spend a little of it trying to spruce the house up.

Lizzie wondered what he'd do if she told them exactly _what_ they were doing with their free time in the house.

Instead, she only kept her mouth shut and watched as they commented on the common room.

"The carpet could use a little dusting," George suggested. "And Derek, have you done the dishes?"

He nodded.

"Casey," Nora came over. "Did you polish the silverware today, Honey?"

"It's all done, Mom," Casey smiled, going over to kiss her on the cheek. "How was dinner?"

"We had pizza at the Wrack Shack," Marti said excitedly. "At least we didn't have to eat at the stinky restaurant!"

"Come here, Smarty!" Derek reached out, excited to see his little sister again. And Marti crashed hard into him. He picked her up in his arms, holding her tight against his chest. He didn't know what he'd do without this girl sometimes, he didn't know why – he loved her so much. "I missed you," he told her.

"I missed _you!"_ Marti's loud screech turned into peals of giggles as he began to tickle her.

But they died away when Nora stepped to the pair, a glint in her eye. "So what's with this girl, Derek?"

"What?" he asked shortly. Marti slipped out of his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Casey shift uncomfortably. "What girl?"

"The one you're supposedly so in love with," Nora reminded.

"Love?" George asked. "Derek? Really?"

Lizzie watched them spitefully. "Casey, would you happen to know anything about that girl?"

Casey grimaced, backing away. "No, I – I – well, why would I be involved with Derek's affairs, anyway?"

"Interesting choice of words," Liz pointed out.

Casey frowned. "Liz –"

But before they could continue, and oh thank god, George cut them all off. "Alright, alright, enough about this talk of girls and love. Derek knows he's grounded, he's not allowed to date for six months – and it's only been one and a half. So keep your private locked away in his quarters, Derek. Come on, Marti, let's go get you all ready for bed. Nora and I'll be there to tuck you in, okay?"

He let her down and she ran off, parents following after. It was a good minute before they had finally left and their door slammed shut behind them, and the three kids were left alone in the living room. Derek grabbed hold of Edwin by the neck and rammed him up against the wall, eyes intent with murder.

"You told Lizzie?"

Edwin squirmed underneath him. "Derek –"

"Get off him," Lizzie flustered, trying to pry his hands away from the boy. "Get off him, Derek!"

"Answer me!" he roared.

"I made him!" Lizzie screamed. "I made him tell me! I found out! It wasn't his fault, it was yours!" she shoved him. "I trusted my sister – and then you had to come along and ruin her!"

"Liz," Casey began quietly, "he didn't –"

"Shut up," Lizzie whispered, already in tears now. "Just shut up!"

And then she flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time, making a beeline for her bedroom and praying to God that when she went to sleep that night, she would never, ever wake up.

Casey couldn't fall asleep.

She was wracked with guilt. I mean, why wouldn't she be? Derek himself was beginning to get a little agitated by having now exactly half the family know their secret – why shouldn't Casey be bothered, too?

_ You have to make her promise, _Derek had said earlier. _You have to make her swear she won't tell anyone, Case. Or we're done for._

To be honest, it didn't really matter that Lizzie knew. It'd mattered to her when Edwin knew, because she hadn't known Ed for too long before he'd seen them at it. She hadn't known him too long at all. But Lizzie, she'd known all her life. So when Lizzie's voice had crackled out of that baby monitor, the least that Casey had felt was relief. She wouldn't have to hide her dark, seductive secret any longer from her little sister – her sweet, kind, good-natured, understanding little sister, the one who was always there for her.

Or so she'd thought.

After finding out – and Casey had no idea how – Lizzie hadn't talked to her. Or Derek.

She was, however, on good terms with Edwin.

Casey'd believed her when she'd told them how Edwin hadn't confessed this sin to her, but how else could she have figured it out? Weren't Derek and Casey being stealthy enough? Weren't they being careful enough? Or were they not trusting the right people?

Desperate for her sister back, Casey snuck out of her room that night.

She knocked quietly on Lizzie's door, noticing how the overhead light was still on, but there was no answer. She let herself in.

"Liz?"

She was on her bed, curled up with her headphones on – though Casey was pretty sure that the music was off. It was a habit of Liz's to just lie there and stare into the walls and all that, trying to focus on something else just to get her mind off of things. Just like Casey did.

"Liz," she sat down, "I'm sorry for not telling you. I really am."

"I'm not mad that you didn't tell me," Lizzie answered in a monotone voice.

Casey chewed her tongue. "Well, then, I'm sorry that I had to pick Derek to have a relationship with. I know he's our big brother, and –"

"I don't care that he's our step-brother."

"Oh," Casey swallowed the rock in her throat. "That's so great. I mean, I thought I was going to have a really hard time trying to convince people that we really are made for –"

"I'm mad that you're having sex with him. That you gave into lust. That you decided to continue having sex with him, and that you allow him to touch you as and when he likes. I'm mad that you went against your own morals."

Casey blinked. Oh… that. "Listen, Liz, it's not like that. I mean, I know it looks like I caved into him, but it – it was an animalistic kind of thing to begin with, and I just couldn't stop myself from the start. I know it was wrong, and I know that I did – am doing – something unthinkable, but I've found this amazing relationship just blossoming beautifully out of everything. I mean, doesn't that count? I love him. I do. And he loves me, too. I swear upon it and nothing else, you know me. Besides… sex isn't all that bad, either."

Lizzie sat up and looked to her menacingly. "Where's the sister that told me never to give in to a boy? Where's the sister that told me how men only wanted sex, how we could never trust them? Where's the sister that slapped me for just wondering what it'd be like to have a boy's fingers between my legs?"

"Lizzie – I –"

"No," she stopped her. "You know what? That sister's gone. She was gone the second you met Derek."

"Lizzie," Casey's face contorted, "I'm still here –"

"Too bad, I want you to leave," Lizzie muttered. "So go, Casey. And please… just don't come back, okay?"

"Liz –"

"And don't worry," she whispered, showing her sister out. "You can go back and tell your boyfriend that I won't tell a single person what I know about my sister and brother. In fact, it's as if I don't have a sister at all."

* * *

><p><strong>WOW we are getting serious. ANYWAY. thank you for the sweetest review, it really honestly made my day.. and also, do continue to review me, because I'm getting really good ideas from you guys! I promise I won't take so long the next time, but since I am kind of tied up with another project, I can't really promise.. but I'm not going anywhere without finishing this story first. So don't worry about that. :) And I'm sorry if I made Liz seem like this angsty emo chick.. I just figured that there had to be some kind of balance, what with Derek and Casey's steaminess and Marti's bubbliness and Ed's reluctance, I thought I should just go ahead and add a little anger and feelings of betrayal. LOL. hope you liked it. :D<strong>


	5. Chapter 5, Silent Angel

_Don't you just hate it when those writers start a real good story and end up leaving it hanging? Never finishing it? HAHA. HI PEOPLE I'm sorry I left for a long time, like I said, I had an existing project to deal with.. but anywho I also said I wouldn't go anywhere without finishing this. (:_  
><em>I do no own these characters, and enjoy. (:<br>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5, Silent Angel<strong>

How To Tell If Your Girlfriend's Lost Interest:

Does she make excuses just not to see you or spend time with you regularly? You don't go out anymore or do things like hugging or holding hands anymore?

"Well, excuses, I'll agree to. She's always got school or homework or something do to... other than me."

Does she ignore you not only in public but in private as well? Does she have excuses when you want to be intimate?

"Fuck, we haven't had sex in forever, man," Derek groaned. "All I want is to be with her though – we don't have to fuck, I just wanted to hang out, or – God."

Have her friends started being aloof with you or are avoiding you?

"Well, none of her friends know. But Emily has been coming onto me more than I'd fancy."

Is your partner suddenly more critical of you and the things you do?

"If she'd _talk_ to me."

Is your partner irritated by things he/she used to love about you earlier?

"Stop, stop, stop," Derek moaned and turned over in bed. "I can't take it anymore. I can't do this. Yes, yes, and yes to everything, Ed, Casey has officially lost interest in me."

Ed looked up from the foot of his brother's bed. He closed up Lizzie's Cosmo magazine. "Instead of doing this, then, why not you go ask her yourself?"

"She doesn't make time for me to!" Derek insisted. He sighed. "It's always something. Something she has to do, somewhere she has got to go – I used to be the only thing on her mind, but now it's been two weeks since we last fought and I'm going crazy."

"Yeah... You're a little crazy."

"A little? A little?! Ed, look at me – I'm paying you to read to me from a chick's magazine! It doesn't get crazier than this!"

"Boys," Nora called from the outside, "dinner in five!"

"Got it, Nora!" they chorused back in unison before turning to face one another once more.

"I'll tell you what the problem is," Derek muttered. "Casey not being interested in me's killing me. She won't fight with me and she won't argue, she won't disagree, she won't tell me off – nothing. Now us, Ed, we've got to find out if she's doing it intentionally or not. Are you clear?"

"Us?" Edwin grimaced.

Derek grabbed at Ed's shirt. Goddamn, when where the times that brothers did things for one another without question? "Yes, us," he snarled, dragging Edwin closer. "Do you have a problem with _us_?"

Edwin gulped. "No."

"Good," Derek let go. He got off his bed, and went to go face the window. "Casey and I disagree on three main terms – my attitude at school, my attitude towards others, and my attitude towards you brats. These are the things she cares about the most. And in a highly controlled environment, if Casey fails to respond consistently to her prior self, we can be assured there's something wrong. You following me, Ed?"

"I guess."

"You better," he mumbled. He tossed over Marti's monitor for the second time. "Cause Phase One is in motion."

* * *

><p><em>Phase 1: Schoolwork Slob<em>

Derek knew that for all the of the years that he'd known – and loved – Casey, one of the many things that bugged her about him was how Derek couldn't care less about his schoolwork. When they'd first started having sex, she'd go on about how she had never been in any kind of relationship with a boy whose IQ was the equivalent of that of a garden variety snail. Then when he'd fallen for her, and she had fallen for him, she'd coax him into "study dates", occasions that he really and truly despised, and coach him in his weak areas. It was for her, and for her to be happy, that he even did his work at all. That and the fact that his father was letting him out more.

But after the fight at the dinner table and after Edwin and Liz had found out about them, things had been starting to go downhill.

He was committed, though, to discovering why.

The first part was easy, to bug Casey with his schoolwork and analyse her reaction to it – so incredibly easy, it was like slipping back into the person he used to be.

He didn't do his homework, started failing tests, and ignored the teachers when they talked.

The peak of this occurred approximately three days and seven hours after the commencement of this highly elaborate execution, at ten in the morning.

It was in History, and Mrs. Baker was collecting their essays for the term – a 30% contribution to their overall grade for the year. She walked past Derek's desk expecting him to have it sticking out for her to collect as she went by. When he didn't, she only turned and looked to him.

"Where's yours, Derek?"

He leant back in his wooden chair (the leather was pulling) and shrugged at the woman. "I don't got it."

Mrs. Baker's brows rose. "You... don't got it?"

Truth be told, he'd done that essay two weeks ago, and it was sitting in his locker begging to be graded. But he had to piss Casey off to find out what the matter was with her. So he cleared his throat and stood his ground. "I don't got it," he repeated.

"Derek," she took a breath, "this is the third piece of work you haven't handed in all week, is everything okay?"

He glanced behind him to see that everyone in class had their eyes intent on him. Everyone except – you guessed it – Casey. Derek didn't understand. Didn't she care?

"Everything's fine," he gritted his teeth.

"Derek, if something is the matter, I'd rather you speak to me than take it out on your work, and –"

"I'll tell you what the matter is," he laughed, looking up at her. "I don't give a damn about my work anymore. I never did, then I did for a while, and now I don't anymore. What're you gonna do about it, grandma?"

Casey looked up, then, and Derek managed to get a glimpse of her beautiful brown eyes – just as Mrs. Baker grabbed him by the arm and dragged him upward and out, towards the principal's office.

* * *

><p>"How many weeks did you get?"<p>

"Three," Derek muttered, leant against his locker.

It was lunch now, and the halls were messy with kids and staff. Derek was desolate and slumping against the metal whilst Sam – who seemed so cheery this morning – was checking his hair in a mirror he liked to keep in his locker.

"That's sick," he laughed. "Three weeks? On top of your mom and dad grounding you for six months?"

Derek watched Sam fix his fringe. Make no mistake: he loathed every ounce of this kid for ever having dated Casey in the first place. Still, he forced a smile. "I'm on a roll, huh?"

"Downhill, that is."

"Tell me about it."

"Oh, hey," Sam looked over. "Here comes Case."

Derek's heart leapt and he looked to where Sam was, too, and caught sight of her majesty floating down the hall. She looked so cute in big platforms, looked so graceful the way her hair swayed with her hips. He smiled again, this time genuinely.

"Hey," he said as she neared.

She glanced at him, spared him a soft smile. "Hi there, Derek. Hi Sam," she stopped.

"Did you catch Derek's showdown this morning?" Sam gave a snicker.

Casey's smile faded. "Yeah."

Derek watched her, watched her eyes. She did seem upset, like she was bothered by it, but _couldn't_ be bothered by it. Did that make sense? He was planning to approach her in conversation about this, of course. However, before he could say anything at all –

"But hey, I'd love to talk with you guys, but I have to go. I got this meeting with a teacher to go over a test. I'll catch you two later."

There it was.

Just like every other day for the past two weeks.

Derek sighed.

"See ya," Sam said.

"I'll catch you at home," Derek said after.

"I'll be home late. Go to bed without me," she murmured, and left.

* * *

><p><em>Phase 2: A Dick to Society<em>

Later that day when Derek got home, all he could really think about was hopping in the bathroom for a quick shower and – well, to be honest – an even quicker jack-off. He usually took fifteen minutes to half an hour, sometimes an hour. But lately, it was taking forever for him to climax alone. Because he would wrap his fingers around himself, begin to stroke, think about Casey, get hard, remember how cold and distant she was being and then turn cotton-candy soft in a matter of seconds.

That had to prove that he wasn't only interested in the sex, just something most might speculate if they came to know.

Because Derek was a sexual creature.

And he had sexual urges.

Sometimes, when he hadn't jacked off or had sex in a while, he would become bothersome and annoying – and this was how his odd and horrid behaviour began, really. So to test Casey again, he sat out in the driveway fixing Marti's bicycle waiting for Casey to come home for the day.

She returned late as she had mentioned she would, nearly close to eleven p.m. His stomach tightened imagining all the dark alleys she'd have to have crossed.

She came up the driveway and noticed him sitting there, fixing Marti's bike, chewing on gum.

As she neared, he spat his gum onto their neighbour's lawn. It took Casey a moment to pause and register his action. Then she took a heave of air, and walked right past him into the house.

Derek stared after her. What, not even a reproachful sigh? The look on her face was one of exhaustion and one of worry but not one of annoyance. She wasn't bothered by his spitting or his horrendous lack of manners around a lady, because there was something else on her mind. Interesting. At least the experiment was going somewhere, and he was learning about her.

It wouldn't be long before he cracked her.

"Alpha to Private, over," he murmured into the monitor.

"Private to Alpha – send, over," came Ed's crackling reply.

"Subject has just passed the entrance. Assume position. Over."

"Roger that."

* * *

><p><em>Phase 3: Sibling Rivalry<em>

Walking in after Casey, the first thing that happened was Marti popping up from the main hall and bouncing over to Derek.

"Smerek!" she giggled. "Did you fix my Jessica yet?"

Derek looked down at her. "No, I ran my car over it," he said loudly. "It's a piece of sh– scrap, Smarti. It's worthless. I threw it out. I hope you don't mind."

Casey took off her jacket and hung it on the hooks, as Marti in that moment began to belt out her best crocodile tears. She didn't... She didn't even turn.

Derek bent down and shoved a five-dollar bill in Marti's hand. "Thanks."

Marti stopped crying for two seconds to wink at him, and then continued, running up the stairs.

Casey herself was making her way up the stairs to her bedroom and Derek decided to use the opportunity to his advantage. Once she had begun her ascent, he called for Edwin.

Edwin poked his head out his door. "Yeah?"

"Get down here, you little punk," he muttered.

The fear in Edwin's voice was real, no matter how much they had rehearsed this, and it was because Edwin knew he was going to get a beat-down whether he liked it or not. He inched his way down.

"What is it?" he asked Derek shakily.

Derek smiled. "I hate you." And then he punched Ed square on the nose.

Blood poured out, and he clutched at his face, screaming. Case came running down the stairs immediately, grappling to hold onto the child. "Derek!" she screamed. "How could you!"

"Well, I –" he'd been planning to make up a lie –

But the following events only confirmed to him why he was in love with Casey, and why it was her that he needed to marry.

She slapped him. "Jerk!" she hissed. "I don't know what you've been trying to do, acting up to piss me off – but you better stop it. If you've got a problem confront me, don't hurt Edwin or Liz or Marti, even if you're paying them to commit crimes for the devil!"

Derek glared at her. He could feel the tears swelling in his eyes now. Fuck, that wasn't a good sign – "You know what?" he pressed forwards, "You're the one with the problem – you've been fucking shoving me aside for the past two weeks. It's not like I haven't tried to talk to you because I have – every single time, Case, you have some kind of excuse to put me off. Well, fine. If you want me to confront you, then, I'll confront you – the fuck is the matter with you? Don't you love me anymore? Don't you?" the tears spilled. "Come on!"

"I love you!" she screamed. "I love you, Derek!"

"Then why don't you talk to me anymore?! Why don't we hold hands? Kiss? Make love?" his voice dropped. "I miss being with you. And by that, I don't mean just fucking around," he added quickly. "I mean talking. And watching the stars. And... you know."

Things he was too shy to mention. He was becoming aware of himself now, conscious. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as Casey only stood there watching him.

"I love you," she whispered again.

Why wouldn't she explain herself? Derek shook his head. "Just tell me what the matter is. We'll work through it."

"She won't," came a tiny, strained voice.

Edwin, bleeding on the floor, craned to look up with Case and Derek to see Lizzie peering out of her bedroom.

They watched her as she emerged.

"I'm sorry, Case," she said apologetically.

"It wasn't you, Liz, and you know it," Casey said immediately after, making to go up the stairs again, when Lizzie blocked her way.

"No," she forced. "You know it is. I'm sorry for saying that I didn't want you as a sister because you were having sex with Derek – it was wrong and rash and I didn't – I didn't realise that he loved you this much. Look at how sweet he's being."

Derek's tummy fluttered. "Christ – don't make me sound like a daisy."

This made Casey giggle. Which in turn made Derek smile, and made Casey give a laugh – which made Lizzie smile, too.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Derek, Casey's been short the past two weeks because of me. We had an argument, and I didn't know it would impact her this way. Impact both of you guys, for that matter. I'm really sorry. Will you guys... Will you get back together again? For me, at least?"

"I don't know," Casey's smile was fading. "What you said? It really made me think, Liz."

"Think about what?" she asked.

"About me and Derek," Casey exhaled. She lowered, and sat on a step. "Yes, we had sex. He took my virginity and we're now in a romantic relationship – but if it's going nowhere, Derek," she looked to him, "I don't want it."

"No," he whispered without thinking. "I mean," his mind was spinning – "Wait – what do you mean, if it's going nowhere?"

"I don't want us to be together only to be told that we can't be together."

Edwin groaned. "Nora and Dad will never agree," he said very nasally.

Lizzie frowned. "They might."

"They'll never," Casey shook her head.

"They might," Derek repeated for Liz. He walked over to her, and sat down beside her. "Case, I know it's been a while, and that all this is throwing you off, but you have to keep faith in us. I love you. I do. If we just find the time to explain to Nora and Dad how much we love each other, they'll surely agree."

"You're sure?"

"I said 'surely', didn't I?"

Casey gave him a weak smile. "Alright. Alright, fine. I'll – we'll see where this goes, okay?"

"Okay," he grinned.

Lizzie smiled, too, and Edwin rolled over on the floor, crawled away to get some tissue for his bleeding nose. It was then that they all noticed Marti, standing there before them. She had her head cocked, a five-dollar bill in one hand.

"Smerek and Casey love each other?" she asked.

Lizzie's eyes widened.

Casey stared and Derek took a breath to explain. "Well –"

"Does that mean we're a happy family for once?" Marti began with a grin, too, bouncing. "No more fighting?"

Derek laughed. "Yeah, Smarti. No fighting. We're just one big happy family, and we all love each other. Come here," he ran to grab at her, and they both crashed onto the floor in a tickle-fight.

Nora and George came in just then, and quickly ordered all of the kids to bed. The day after, Lizzie has soccer practice and Edwin had hockey – Marti was going to play over at the neighbour's house. And Derek and Casey being grounded, looked forward to having the house to themselves for a bit and making love after a long, long time.

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><p><em>This isn't the last chapter but I AM going to finish this. But it's nearing the end so brace yourselves, I never saw this to be a long story or anything. Haha. But if you guys have any ideas for me to do other stories just drop me a review and let me know! I get bored sometimes. (:<em>  
><em>I love all you guys for the sweet reviews by the way, each one means something special to me even if I don't reply or anything.. Just letting you guys know 3<em>


	6. Chapter 6, Tiger & Kitten (Part 1)

Hey you guys.. I'm back! This next chapter is a two-part, so hang in there for the second! Review and follow to keep up with what goes on between Derek and Casey.. it's getting pretty hot! I don't own these characters!

XOXO Haley

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><p><strong>Chapter 6, Tiger &amp; Kitten (Part 1)<strong>

Casey sat on the floor of Derek's bedroom. He was locking his door right then, and she gave him his time to do so. They didn't want anyone barging in or walking in on them, surely, because they had the entire day today to themselves. Her mom had gone out with George, out of town for the day to get furniture for the basement. Edwin was at Hockey. Lizzie was at soccer, and Marti was next-door, playing on their neighbour's lawn with the kid who lived there, Mikey.

The house was empty.

The house was quiet.

And their hearts we going crazy.

Casey didn't want to just jump at it like Derek wanted to, and she felt that was something important to note – she wanted to draw out the pleasure from every touch, every kiss, every caress.

So when Derek was done locking his door she asked him to go over to his window and pull the curtains together, too. And when he was done with that, she went over, pressed him up against it, and tied his hands to the grill overhead.

He hadn't very much resisted, to say the least, but it was hard to tie him up using two of his old shirts – for one, they stank, and for another, kept slipping and wouldn't knot. But she did it eventually, in a minute or two, and stood back to inspect her work.

She smiled. "Comfy, Tiger?"

His lips curled slowly. "Is that what I am now?"

Casey bit her lower lip, nodding slowly. They were both fully clothed, something she was about to change in a while. She kissed the boy lightly on the jaw before walking over to the empty space before him, and took it to be her centre stage. "I wanted to play a little bit of music for this," she murmured as she sat down again, "but I didn't want it to be a cheesy porno sort of strip. I wanted it to be a sensual one, and I wanted to leave you alone to your thoughts."

"S – Strip?" he swallowed.

She giggled. "Mm-hmm." Casey laid back down on the floor so her tummy fell in and her breasts edged up a little. She arched her back and her chest thrust up. She parted her legs.

Derek's Adam's apple quivered. "I'm already going nuts, and you're still dressed."

"Then maybe I should stay dressed," she teased.

"No," he whispered. "Please don't."

"Silly Derek," she smiled, rolling over. She was in a short skirt, the flowy kind, and a spaghetti top. On that, she had Derek's hockey jacket on. She unzipped it slowly, letting the zipper roll down notch by notch.

The sexiest part about watching Derek squirm was knowing all the ways he wanted her right then. She knew if he had a choice, he'd tie her up and take her from behind.

She hid that grin on her face, edging upwards and unzipping it fully. The jacket fell apart to either side of her to reveal her black top. It was tight and stretched over her perfectly. She knew Derek loved to see her figure, because he thought it was good when she'd thought it wouldn't be enough. She ran her hands up her sides, brushing her breasts, bringing them back down to lift the black fabric up lightly. Nothing much, just to see the soft, smooth skin around her stomach. So tight, she let a finger or two run over the silken wasteland.

Derek was staring at her with an intent now, needing to take her. She enjoyed that look on his face, that hungry look in his eye that told her if she wasn't able to fight back, he'd devour her.

She slipped the jacket off and sat up.

"It's getting cold," she murmured to him, feeling her nipples start to tingle and harden.

"It's just the opposite," Derek replied hotly, laid back against the window, watching her.

She smiled. "Maybe." She slipped a strap of her top down past her shoulder. Her bra underneath was black lace, his favourite. Case slipped the other strap down, too, and watched his eyes trail her every move. She slipped the top off, and tossed it onto his face. Derek got pissed off, his vision now obscured. He shook his head to get the top off him, but by the time he had, Casey had already turned away so he couldn't see her front.

She unhooked her bra and took it off.

Watching him over her shoulder, Casey laughed when Derek – now looking angry – tugged at his hands. They didn't budge, and he tried harder to no avail. "Case," he whined.

She laughed harder, turning around to face him. Her breasts were perfect, pert things, mounted perfectly on her chest. Her nipples were thick and hard now; she was beginning to get aroused. She put her hands to them and held them, massaged them, tweaked her nipple on the right for a bit. She shut her eyes at the jolt of pleasure. "Oh," she let out involuntarily. "That feels good."

"Yeah?" Derek breathed. His mouth was watering. "I want my lips on you."

"I'm sure you do," Casey smiled. She slipped her skirt down, bending down as she did so, letting her ass face him.

"Oh, God," he tried to look away but couldn't, "Casey, you're killin' me!"

"Am I?" she laughed, coming back up.

Then she lay back down on the floor and slowly, inched her underwear down her full, shaped thighs. She let the material slip as naturally as possible, keeping her legs closed. When it was off, Casey then parted her legs for Derek. Watching him watch her made her heart beat hard between her legs. Real hard. The smile on her face faded. It wasn't funny torturing him anymore, because she herself was in need of some pleasure.

Her hot, wet core was begging to be touched.

She shut her eyes and slipped a hand down between her legs to run her fingers up and down the length of herself.

She could hear Derek's heavy and hot breathing. It was this that spurred her on to open her eyes again, to look at him looking at her, watching the way he was craving for her right then. So ravenous, he was glaring at her, eyes glazing over. It made her ears go hot, and she loved every minute of it. She continued to touch herself, rubbing up and down at her clit, letting a finger slip in occasionally. God, it'd been so long since she had something inside of her...

Another hand of hers moved up to pinch a nipple as she went on with her self-ministrations, manoeuvring at her wet self like a lady that knew what she wanted. No more the messy teenager who wanted an orgasm, who needed to fuck. No, Casey was a woman who knew what she wanted, when she wanted it, and how she wanted it. She knew herself, every single part, perfectly. She knew what made her heart skip a beat, what it made it jump, and what made it stop all together. She rubbed harder with every glance towards Derek and that thick ridge building in his jeans, the tension building up in her. She started to moan slightly, moving faster and deeper, when her eyes met Derek's.

Instantly, something jolted inside of her, and she rose to such an unbelievable climax – her first in two weeks.

Her back arched off the ground and she groaned out loud in all kinds of pleasure, nipples tingling and hardening. Her legs raised up slightly, too, feet lifting off the floor. They returned a minute after, when the orgasm was over, and her head was floating back down from heaven.

"Oh, God," she whispered, panting. "That was amazing."

"It was," Derek could hardly breathe. He sounded like he'd been chocking on the words.

Casey smiled slowly. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you." She crawled over to him, and undid the zipper on his jeans.

He was already rock-hard and ready to go. She reached in and pulled out the length of him, pink and purple all over. He groaned out, finally having her fingers around him. He was really hot, his cock pulsing heat in her hand as she took it. She licked her lips, ready for the taste of him.

She kissed his tip first.

"Casey," Derek moaned, "please."

"Please what?" she looked at him.

"Take it," he croaked.

"Take what?"

"Take my dick –"

"Take your dick where?"

"Take the whole fucking thing in your mouth, Baby, please," he grumbled, "please, I can't –"

"Patience is virtue," she whispered against him, but slipped him in her mouth anyway. He was right. He couldn't wait, and neither could she. It was why she'd started touching herself, why she had to do it.

She pulled him in and out smoothly, allowing extra saliva to drench him so it'd be easier for her to take him. He was big, and when he was hard as a rock like this, it was difficult to manage all of him in her mouth. But she tried. She could reach up to his base at the most, and that alone was more than enough for Derek, Case was sure, because then he was beginning to buck against her.

"Fuck," he cried out. "Oh, God, Casey."

She reached a hand up to run along his ripple of muscles, those abs he'd worked so hard on. Christ, he was so hot. She could feel the heat between her legs begin to throb again as she took Derek in her mouth fully and wholly. After a minute of it, she pulled away and then just let her lips cover the head of him and sucked on it. Within a couple of seconds, Derek's stomach was spasming, his hands were clenching, and he was spilling inside of her mouth.

She took all of it.

Casey swallowed every last drop before surfacing to look up at Derek's tired and lusty eyes.

He smiled.

She smiled back. "I'm so in love with you."

"Then would ya come back up here, Baby, and untie me so I can thank you properly?"

She giggled, and did so. The moment she had, he pounced on her in an embrace, and the both of them crashed to the floor in a fit of laughter.

"Derek!" she scolded as he kissed her neck, her ear.

He grinned against her. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she whispered, and it was the last thing she said before he was pulling off his shirt and kissing her breasts.

"This is how the tiger catches his kitten," he growled into her neck. "The kitten doesn't stand a chance."

"She doesn't?"

"She doesn't," he squeezed her breasts.

She yelped. "What're you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna eat you," he said in a low rumble.

"Yeah?" Kasey breathed, getting hot, flustered. "You're gonna eat me, huh?"

"I'm gonna rip you up, limb from limb, and devour you..." he moved down, kissing her belly. Her hands trailed his movements as he kissed her down her stomach and to her core, hovering his lips over her centre. "You're all mine to finish."

"All yours to finish," Casey whispered.

Then he dove right in and began to lap at her. He did this first because she'd already had an orgasm, and the liquids that'd run out of her the first time were still pooled there between her legs. He loved the taste of her, and so couldn't resist helping himself to some of her before escorting her to a second orgasm. She tasted hot, and tasted sweet. Once in his mouth, it was all he could taste, and he wouldn't have given it up for anything. When he had eaten her dry, he worked his tongue on her clitoris, flicking the nub around.

His fingers moved up to rub at her entrance, pushing in and slipping inside.

Derek's specialty when it came to Casey was just this.

He could make her scream – really scream.

With his fingers inside of her, Derek felt around for that one bump – that one spot. And when he found it, he rubbed furiously at it. He bent down and let his mouth cover her from the outside, lips pulling her clitoris away and sucking on it. He emitted a low tone that made his mouth vibrate, along with it, Casey's clit.

She groaned and fell back, writhing. "Oh, God, Derek!"

"Mmm," was all he could actually manage, working at her. His forefinger and middle finger were inside of her centre, and since his ring and pinky had nothing to do, he scooted her ass up closer to him and brought his mouth down to her anus. He first took a flick at the closed bud before letting a trail of saliva ooze down as lubricant. And then he slipped his ring and pinky inside, letting his fore and middle go back to where they did their work best. He attached his mouth back at her clit.

His other hand moved up to hold her breast.

This was when Casey began to squirm and wriggle underneath him with so much pleasure, she didn't know what else to do but pop. She exploded into yet another orgasm, going crazy.

"Oh my God," she breathed hard, pink in the face. "Derek. Oh God, I thought I'd missed you but I had no clue, did I?"

"No, you didn't," he mumbled, moving back up to her face, where the two shared an amazing, heart-pounding kiss.

After a while, they broke away from one another.

"We haven't even had sex yet and I'm all worn out," she said to him in a hush. "How do you do that to me?"

He laughed. "Must be my special talent."

"Get on the bed, Derek, will you? It's cold down here."

They moved up.

She climbed up onto him. "So," she whispered. "Are we ready for something a little bit mellower now?"

"Mellower? Is that a word?"

"Do you have to spoil the mood like that?"

"Like what?"

"Mellower _is_ a word, alright?"

"Jesus Christ, forgive me for asking about it," Derek laughed, pulling her face down for a kiss. "Let's just fuck."

Casey smiled. "This," she said, "is how the kitten catches her prey. The tiger doesn't stand a chance."

"The tiger _always_ wins."

"Oh, not today," she purred, moving up and kissing him on the chest. "This kitten's the one in charge here."

"The kitty's gonna eat me up, huh?" Derek breathed.

"Not just eat you up," Casey bit on his ear. "Right-out swallow you whole."

"Mmm," he rumbled from out of his chest as she kissed his mouth. "Take me," he whispered. "Devour me."

Casey pulled down his jeans and stroked the thick length of him in her hand. Two seconds later, she was raising herself and then lowering herself onto him. He filled her wholly as she sat there on him, and it was a feeling she couldn't even begin to express. She felt so full, so complete, so sexually charged, it was driving her wild. The nerves in her nipples were sizzling, her thick wet core was aching from the inside out – so she began to move against him. Up and down, up and down, she bounced on him lightly.

Her hands moved up to hold his chest for support, while his hands held her hips.

Their eyes remained interlocked for the few minutes that this went on. On an average day, Derek would've lasted much longer – but since he hadn't had sex in two weeks and missed Casey so much, he climaxed for the second time in about an hour. When he was done pouring his seed into her, she collapsed on him, their legs entwining. The mess of fluid inside Casey leaked out and dripped down the side of her leg, dribbling onto him, too, as the pair lay there, exhausted.

They stayed like that for some time, until Derek caught something moving in the corner of his eye, and jerked his head to his bedroom door.

It was ajar.

"Shit," he muttered. "I keep telling Dad we need to fix the lock on my door."

Casey looked over at it, too, and blinked for a second. "There's no one at home, Derek, calm down. We're not at risk of being seen."

"I know, but –"

And then suddenly, there was a loud crash that echoed through the house. They both jerked up to a sit, and Derek was the first to get off the bed. He hastily pulled on his jeans, and peered out the door. Downstairs, at the foot of the first landing, Nora's replacement vase (for the one they'd broken before) was in smithereens on the floor. He rolled his eyes.

"Wind must've knocked it over or some shit," he muttered, as Casey came out wearing his shirt.

"Oh, no, Mom's going to be mad," she groaned. "Why do we keep breaking vases during sex?"

Derek laughed. He embraced her. "I don't know. I think we should find out. I say we go and have sex again, and wait to hear if another one breaks – then we'll know for sure if our privates are cursed or not."

Casey buried her head in his chest, smiling. "Bring it on."


	7. Chapter 7, Tiger & Kitten (Part 2)

_HEY YOU GUYS sorry for the wait, here you go! (:_

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><p><strong>Chapter 7,<br>Tiger & Kitten (Part 2)**

Derek watched as Casey pulled on a tight-fitting pink running top, the last of a list of clothing items she needed to have on to seem the least bit decent. He was fine with boxers and a pair of knee-length shorts on, and the both of them were in his room after a long day of sensual ups and downs, fasts and slows and passion. For the first time in far too long, the both of them had really and truly made love – but it wasn't this that made Derek feel like he was in a dream.

It was how they'd spent the entire day together – just the both of them.

He smiled at her.

Something inside of him made him feel like mourning the end of the period, but something else told him there would be so many of them more to come.

"You look beautiful," he said to her.

She turned coyly, flashing him a shy smile. "You're only saying that because this is tight on me like a second sheath of skin."

His smile faded. "I'm saying that because your skin's glowing in the light of the sun as she sets, jealous, unable to bear the beauty you rain down on all those graced with your presence."

Casey was doing her hair but stopped cold for a moment, only looked at him. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't smirking or winking or any of that, and that was how she could tell he was serious. She let a smile stretch her lips. "I love you."

He smiled along with her. He loved her, too. Derek leant back for a second and tried to recall exactly how he'd gotten himself into this huge mess – or, beautiful disaster. He wasn't too sure of the time it had been, or the day, or month. But all he knew was that it'd gone down at a hockey match he'd had.

_ The biggest match of the season._

_ This is the biggest match of the season._

_ Those words replayed themselves over and over inside of Derek's head as he glided up and down on the ice, heart thumping. Biggest match. Do your best. Score MVP. Make a name for yourself and hold your standards up. Because everyone here was looking out for him; looking out for what the amazing Derek Venturi had in store for them this season. He always delivered something heart-pounding that made all the girls swoon and all the guys roar. That was just how he did it._

_ But today, he was nervous._

_ He didn't know why._

_ The biggest match of the season..._

_ This is the biggest match of the season..._

_ He groaned as he missed yet another pass, letting the puck slide right through the cracks of his goddamn fingers. Jesus, could you ever lose from wanting to win? From one corner of his eye, he could see his Coach shaking his head in discontent, see his teammates eyeing him._

_ "Derek!" one called out. "Where's your fucking head?!"_

_ He took a breath. "Right fucking here, now give it to me!" he beat his stick on the ice, "I can do this!"_

_ The other team was swift on their feet and very light, too. They sped around them like lightning storms. But this was their ring and Derek knew his way around the best; he would take a left and sail through mid-way before shooting the puck straight in from the other end – one of his star moves, things people came to watch him do. So he indicated again to his teammates that he was ready, and they managed to rip the puck away long enough to have it slip over to him; and so Derek's turn began to bring glory to the school._

_ They were at a nil-nil now, and scoring the first goal at such a high velocity and with such power would make his opponents stumble, he knew; he had to do this, he knew, and more than anything, he knew he could do it. He reached for the puck, caught it, and glided off._

_ He was half-way across to the other side, when something in the stands caught his eye – it was a moving figure. Not that all these other figures weren't moving though, but this one wasn't cheering. It was calm. It was Casey, arriving only now to watch him play. He guessed she hadn't wanted him to see her, so had decided to come in the middle of the game, but her luck hadn't played out well today._

_ Derek had seen her._

_ She'd been coming for his games more often these days._

_ And the more she came, the more he –_

_ "Derek, stop fucking up!" Sam screamed at him as someone from the other team sailed past, having taken the puck from him._

_ Derek's sight snapped back to the game, but his attention still remained on Casey. Who did she think she was? Coming in as and when she liked to see his games? It was bad enough they never got along – sure, it made the sex phenomenal – but he didn't want to admit to himself that her showing up was making him feel nervous. Like he needed to work to impress her, unlike the others. He shut his eyes for a second, but all he could see was her face._

_ He took a step to race after the puck, but tripped, and fell flat on the ice._

_ The other team scored, cheered, and his own teammates stopped to stare at him, skating around him. "The fuck's wrong with you?" one yelled._

_ "Christ, Venturi!" another yelled._

_ But Derek could only pick himself up and head straight for the bench, letting himself take a break before something worse happened – because week after week of Casey's presence at his games, he had grown increasingly horrible, because something – just something – was changing._

It'd been quite a change, too.

They continued to smile at each other for some time, like two crazy idiots in love – and then Derek reached into his bed-side drawer and pulled out a black lighter and a cigarette; he lit the latter with the former and then proceeded to take a deep puff, well aware of Casey's distaste for _his_ taste for smoking.

"Damnit, Derek, what's the matter with you?!" Casey coughed out at once, waving away the smoke as he exhaled. "Stop it!"

But he really needed the feel to help him stay on a high; he did want to feel like he was still on cloud nine.

"Come on, just a couple more drags."

"Derek, I swear to God, you pig – if you don't put that out this instant –"

"You'll what?" he taunted her.

"Derek, I'm telling you!"

"You'll what?"

This was what they were in the middle of, then, when voices began to echo up from downstairs. Simultaneously, Casey waved away all the smoke and Derek dropped the cigarette, stomping on it to put it out before the two leaned out their doorway. Downstairs, Nora had come home. It sounded like she had Marti with her, too, and it seemed Marti was in some kind of trouble.

"I won't tolerate you acting this way, Marti," Nora was saying to the child. "This isn't right. Just please, tell me the truth."

"I'm not lying!"

"Marti, please!"

Derek and Casey exchanged glances.

"What d'you think's going on down there?" Derek asked.

Casey shrugged. "Only one way to find out. And we better tell Mom about the vase, too."

The two decided to inch down the steps, and found Marti and Nora in the main hall, in a heated argument. Marti was on the couch, Nora standing in front of her, arms akimbo.

"Marti, tell me the truth."

"I told you, I'm not lying!"

"Marti!"

"Everything okay down here, Mom?" Casey asked quietly, her hand on the railing.

Derek peeked out from behind her. "You guys seem tense."

Nora jumped slightly at the voices, then very quickly regained her stern stance. "Derek. Honey – where were you today?"

Derek smiled. "I was fixing George's car in the garage all day."

"And Casey?" she questioned next.

Casey parted her lips to say she'd been home, too, when Derek cut her off. "She was out at the library studying the entire time. She just got back a couple minutes ago," he said, running a hand easily though his hair. Lies came to him simply, like breathing or eating. He sighed. "What's the matter?"

Nora turned to look knowingly at Marti. "Yes, Marti – what is the matter?"

Derek raised his brows. "Spit it out, Smarti."

"God," Nora exhaled to look at the pair – "I'm so sorry you'll have to hear this, but you won't believe what Mikey's mother caught Marti doing to him just an hour ago."

"Gosh, what?" Casey sat down beside the child.

"She was –" Nora took a breath. "She was – well – Marti took off Mikey's clothes, then took off her own, and was sitting on him. It took Mikey's mother a second to register what was going on but god, when she did – well, you can imagine." Nora was flushed, pink now. "Christ, and wait till you hear Marti's excuse for this. I'm trying to tell her what she did was inappropriate and I'm trying to explain to her the good-touch-bad-touch, but she just won't listen. She keeps saying that – she keeps saying –"

"What is it?" Derek prompted.

"That she saw you both doing it first."

Casey's heart hitched. "Oh God, Mom –"

"That she saw us doing it?" Derek interrupted, placing a hand on Casey's shoulder to calm her, to tell her he was in control. "Marti, how could you even say something like that? You know I was in the garage the whole time. I told you I'd be."

"No, you didn't!" she screamed. "I'm telling you I saw you!"

"That's not possible," Derek shook his head.

"She's got a story to go with it, too," Nora groaned.

Marti frowned. "I'm telling you! I'm not lying – I'm telling the truth! I saw you two! I left my kitty ears at home so I went back to get them because Mikey and I were playing kitty and tiger – so I came back to get them, and I – saw – you – two!"

_ She opened the front door and peeked in. Derek and Casey were supposed to be home, but he didn't know where they were right then. It was alright. Her kitty ears were here somewhere._

_ She looked in the den._

_ They weren't there._

_ She looked in her room._

_ They weren't there._

_ She looked in Edwin's and Lizzie's room, too, but they weren't there either – the last place left to look was Derek's room, and Casey's room. Casey's room was empty and Marti looked there before heading her way over to Derek's. She found the door slightly ajar. She knew that she wasn't allowed in Derek's room sometimes because he didn't like other people going in there, but right now, she could hear voices._

_"Do you have to spoil the mood like that?"_

_ Casey's voice._

_ "Like what?"_

_ And then Derek's voice._

_ "Mellower is a word, alright?"_

_ "Jesus Christ, forgive me for asking about it. Let's just fuck."_

_ Derek and Casey, fighting as usual. Wait a minute, hadn't they said they loved each other and now everyone was a big happy family again? Marti frowned, frozen at the doorway. Why'd they lie? And what was 'fuck'? Maybe he'd meant to say 'hug' – like "forgive me, and let's just hug." Yeah, that must be it. Marti listened in some more._

_ "This," she heard Casey say, "Is how the kitten catches her prey. The tiger doesn't stand a chance."_

_ "The tiger always wins," Derek replied._

_ "Oh, not today," Casey answered after that, "This kitten's the one in charge here."_

_ "The kitty's gonna eat me up, huh?"_

_ "Not just eat you up – right-out swallow you whole."_

_ "Mmm, take me. Devour me."_

_ Marti stiffened. Derek and Casey were playing kitty and tiger too! Except with Mikey, they were playing chase – the tiger chased the kitty till he caught it, and that's how you won. But Derek and Casey playing it made it seem way cooler than it already was. Marti moved the door a little bit to watch so she could win, too. She was tired of having Mikey catch her all the time._

_ She watched Casey touch Derek in a place she wasn't supposed to. Then she saw Derek hold Casey where she was, and then Casey started to bounce on him. They made hurting noises, but Marti didn't know why they both looked like they liked it._

_ She watched for about ten minutes until Derek cried out for some reason, she didn't know why – he was perfectly fine doing the same thing for so long. And Casey hadn't hurt him either. But after he gave that cry, Casey fell down and lay beside him. They both weren't wearing clothes. Was this how you were supposed to play tiger and kitty?_

_ Marti took a breath._

_ Just then, Derek caught sight of her, and his eyes moved to the door._

_ She guessed she wasn't supposed to have seen this and quickly ran down the stairs, knocking over Nora's vase on the way down. Oh no, another one – she was going to be mad again. Groaning and still not having found her kitty ears – but now with newfound knowledge of how to finally beat Mikey, Marti swiftly moved out the front door and ran over to his place._

"Oh, we broke that vase," Casey burst out. What she'd meant to say was that she had believed they were to be blamed for the vase, not Marti, but her mind was already spinning as it was. Marti had seen them having sex. Marti knew something she shouldn't, she just could not make any sense out of it. It was frightening Casey the most. She shivered. "The vase was us."

"See, Marti?" Nora nodded.

"It was me!" she insisted.

"Marti, stop it, alright?" Derek grimaced. "It isn't funny. Now, I don't know where you learnt this kind of thing but Honey, let Nora talk to you about this really quickly. She'll tell you what's good touch and bad touch, and then you'll know. Okay?"

Marti glared at him, eyes filling with tears. And then she ran up the stairs and to her bedroom.

Nora flustered after her.

Casey and Derek, now alone in the living room, could hear the beat of the other's heart loud and clear.

"That was cutting it too close, Derek," Casey muttered, still in shock.

Derek buried his face inside his hands. "Jesus Christ. I'm pretty sure that what happened today was _some_ kind of sexual abuse towards Marti, letting her witness us fuck like that," he whispered. "Fucking hell."

"That was cutting it way too close, Derek, I think we should just stop already," Casey's voice quivered. "If Nora tells George, he might suspect us, knowing _you_ – and –"

"What d'you mean, knowing me?"

"That you're willing to have sex with anything that moves and has a heartbeat?"

Derek parted his lips to argue, but shut his mouth. "Yeah, you got a point. But I'm sure she won't tell Dad, I mean – she can't. That way she's complicating the matter. I think they'll leave it between her and Marti."

"Can you promise that?"

"I can hope for it."

"Hope," Casey bit down on the word, "cannot take us much further, Derek."

"Well, then, faith will have to do –" he shrugged. "Because this relationship isn't being jeopardized. Think ab'out it, Casey. We could have gotten caught today, but we didn't. What does that tell you?"

"That we've been given grace, by God!"

"No," he corrected. "That means we're meant to be. It means even if we fuck up, things will work out for us. Do you remember the hockey game that day, Casey?"

"Hockey game?"

"When I first realised I was falling for you. The hockey game."

"The hockey game," she smiled to herself, drifting back to the memory. "Yes, I remember perfectly."

_ Derek was the last one left in the locker room, after the rest of the guys had left without him. They were pissed off, mad, that he'd been so bad he had to be benched the entire game, and it wasn't only Casey that'd seen this. Her mother had, too, and so had George and Liz and Edwin. George had actually planned on coming in here to talk to Derek, because knowing him, he probably wouldn't come home for the night – but Casey had offered to go instead._

_ They'd been shocked._

_ Casey herself hadn't._

_ For some reason, she found herself appearing more and more frequently at his hockey matches. She found herself passing him in the halls more often, caught herself staring at him more often. The fact of the matter was that Derek Venturi was a very good-looking young man; he was handsome, charming. He was toned, muscular, and though Casey knew he'd taken many girls by the waist, she hoped she was something special in his life._

_ She didn't know why, she just did – there was something about his risqué and adventurous, unpredictable character that called out to her. Being Casey meant order. Discipline. But when she was with Derek, oh, she was lifted ten feet off the ground and spun, spiralling upwards to the heavens and beyond – because for a blessed hour or two or three, she could finally be free._

_ She could yell, she could laugh, she could be disrespectful and speak out her thoughts, she could sit however she wanted, she could speak whatever she wanted, and she could be at ease._

_ That was how Derek made her feel._

_ She wanted to be around him more and more than she already was, and this was how Casey came to realise she was falling in love with him. Her heart skipped beats when he came round, and jealousy boiled in her blood when another girl set eyes on him. She wanted Derek, and more than anything, she wanted him to want her. But lately, he'd only hated her more._

_ She went into the locker room hoping to settle it, once and for all._

_ "Derek?" she peered in. She heard him groan, and entered the room. "Derek, please, let's talk."_

_ "Talk? No – no, you get the fuck away from me."_

_ Casey swallowed. "Derek, come on. We haven't had sex in two months, and you won't even bother to fight with me anymore, all you do is avoid me."_

_ "With good reason."_

_ "With what reason?" she inquired further, eyes beginning to well. "I just – I just wanna be with you more, that's all."_

_ "You can't," Derek mumbled. He was sitting on a bench, his duffel bag in front of him, half-naked. He was sweating and he looked like he'd been crying. "You can't be around me; I don't want to be anywhere near you, ever."_

_ "Don't say that –"_

_ "Why the fuck not?!" he exploded. "When you're around, I don't function! You come around, Casey, and I trip. I fall. I stumble, I walk into walls, my stomach flips – you throw me the fuck off, and you make me uncomfortable, and I – and I don't even know why!" he screamed. "This is your fault! Me falling apart at this game was all your fault!"_

_ Casey only stood there, stunned, listening to him spill out thoughts that had only stayed locked inside of her head. "Derek," she whispered, shell shocked, "Derek, do you realise what you're saying?"_

_ He scowled. "I'm saying you're a curse!"_

_ Casey swallowed. "Tell me how you feel around me when we're together."_

_ Derek had to take a while for this one. He breathed in, arms erupting in visible goose bumps. "Good."_

_ "Tell me how you feel, Derek –"_

_ "Good!" he yelled. "Good, I feel good, I feel comfortable – I feel like I can be myself, and it's right. I don't feel guilty for being a foul-mouth piece of fuck, I don't feel sorry that I'm a failure in school, I don't feel upset that I'm inadequate or never good enough, because with you, I'm perfect. I'm everything. It feels like I'm complete, Casey, okay?"_

_ Casey swallowed. "I kind of feel like that with you. And the butterflies... the butterflies kill me."_

_ "They're terrible," Derek touched his stomach. "I'm always nervous around you."_

_ Casey continued to stare at him. He seemed unsure of what he was feeling, and didn't know what to attribute it to – this was what surprised Casey the most. A guy like Derek, a guy who got around as much as Derek, didn't know what this was?_

_ "Derek," Casey almost laughed. "Don't you know what this is?"_

_ "No. Have you felt this before?"_

_ "I think so. I felt it with Sam and Max and Truman, but with you, it's ten times as worse."_

_ "You can't be serious."_

_ "I am."_

_ "Don't –"_

_ "Derek, I'm afraid we're –"_

_ "Oh my God, don't say it –"_

_ "– in love."_

"I didn't even know what love was," Derek mumbled, shifting closer to her as well. "With you, I did."

Casey looked away, tearing. "You know just how to keep me believing in you, even when I have no hope left," she whispered. "So fine. You win this time. We'll stay together, but Derek, be warned. Liz knows. Ed knows. And now Marti knows we have something to hide – Nora and George are on the cusp of suspicion. One more slip up, Derek, and we're done for."

"Don't worry," he smiled softly at her. "We'll be fine."

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><p><em>Hey! well, there you go you guys. haha. hope you're enjoying this, it's gonna get pretty hot soon!<em>


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